Wednesday, March 18, 2009

COPYRIGHT OR COPY ALL RIGHT!

Copyright is something most people in the film industry takes for granted. Heck...most producers in the business actually don't give a shit about copyright or intellectual property. Legal aspects in this industry is basically non existent. Contracts are non-biding pieces of paper. As a worker working on a project, there's hardly a contract signed. You'd be lucky if the producer even covers your ass with insurance during a shoot.
And i don't see much change in the near future unless FINAS demands that production companies upgrade their management skills and administration.
Meanwhile, as a writer, my ideas are supposed to be sacrocanct. Unfortunately, stealing ideas is part of the industry here. Therefore, it is crucial that writers like me have various stop gap methods to prove that my ideas and concepts are mine.
I will from now on post all my concepts and proposal online dated and confirmed. Therefore if a certain TV station comes out with a show or concept that is similar to my idea, I will sue their pants. These guys pay thousands and millions to foreigners to borrow ideas and series like Who Wants To be A Millionaire and Dancing With The Stars, and yet they don't blink an eyelid when they steal an idea from a local writer and rehash it without paying the creator a single sen.
I hope other writers do the same - post their scripts in various script banks online or create a drop box and put your scripts in there because it is digitally dated.
To the other producers, buck up. People have legal rights. It would also be in beneficial for you to start doing things legally and with a paper trail - contracts, insurance, accounts and billings.
It may cost you a little bit more, but in the end, it ultimately helps improve the industry.

3 comments:

Ajami Hashim said...

Salaam en. anwardi,

errr! kalaulah SWAM takder copmohor/stamping kannn? ;-)

zubin said...

Intriging intriging kat mana nih!

Ehsan Ismail said...

Salam Encik Anwardi,

Saya juga ingin menjadi penulis skrin yang berjaya di Malaysia.

Saya pun ada terbaca masalah hak cipta, masalah ciplak idea orang lain.

Namun, saya cuba mengharungi lautan luas industri perfileman yang serba mencabar ini.

Wassalam.