Whose script is it, Anyway? Writers question credit and compensation

It was an announcement from Yash Raj Films asking writers to send in scripts to their submission portal Innocuous enough until a clause screenshot from the YRF website found its way to social media with a post titled ldquoThis is wrong on so many levelsrdquo Soon enough WhatsApp groups were buzzing setting off alarm bells among film enthusiastsThe clause reads as if it was from a dystopian contract ldquoAny submission solicited or unsolicited shall become the property of the production house unless therersquos a prior written agreement and may be exploited in any way at YRFrsquos sole discretionrdquo The fine print went on to state that those submitting their work would not be entitled to ldquoany compensation credit or noticerdquoWhat made the post blow up was its reference to YRFrsquos announcement just days earlier of the submission portal ldquoScript CellrdquoRiya Rajkumar Sharma Sailesh Ramaswamy Anu Singh Choudhary and Sudeep Nigam screenwriterWe reached out to YRF for a clarification however they only issued a public statement claiming that the viral clause was not part of its Script Cell terms but from a separate disclaimer now removed on their websiteHowever screenwriters say such clauses are not unheard of Contracts often support producers more than the writers Independent screenwriter Sailesh Ramaswamy lists some examples including the credit clause which gives credit as per the producerrsquos or platformrsquos in the case of OTTs discretion ldquoEarlier we used to be able to push back Back in 2019 2018 and 2020 I signed contracts where I had put in clauses that my name would be on the poster We have regressed from thererdquo he saysThe second big thing Ramaswamy says is the shift in the payment structure Contracts are now being structured to pay writers only 40 to 50 per cent for the final draft and the rest in parts Ramaswamy adds ldquoAt times if the writer has insisted on a buyback clause successful producers want writers to buy it back at 4050 per cent more than the price that they paid you for writing itrdquo In many contracts payments are also tied to draft approvals 20 per cent on the first draft another 20 per cent on the second and so onWhile Ramaswamy has more examples that even established writers struggle with we wonder if it is even logical to submit scripts via a portalHow do new writers looking to get their foot in the door even navigate this system ldquoI feel that script submissions done without knowing the person to whom you are submitting are not that usefulrdquo says Sudeep Nigam screenwriter and creatorInstead Nigam recommends pitch festivals like the one organised by the Screenwriters Association SWA as better platforms to bring new scripts forwardIn the real world where young writers have little to no bargaining power you canrsquot depend only on luck ldquoOver the last five years there has been a lot of chatter around writersrsquo rights and we want to push that discourse forward The Writers Guild of America WGA strike in 2023 gave us a lot of momentum Itrsquos still not equitable itrsquos still not great bargaining power But at least there is chatter and there is fightrdquo says NigamBut why is credit and compensation even a question Anu Singh Choudhary a screenwriter who has recently transitioned to being a director and producer says that the Copyright Act in India is strong but it gets murky as ldquofilmmaking is such a collaborative ideardquo ldquoAt what point is a directorrsquos voice or a producerrsquos voice giving input When you have submitted your script and then they come back with feedback or ldquonotesrdquo and they are making it supposedly their own does that make the material theirs Therefore I feel a basic minimum contract is important to have We are only fighting for thatrdquo she saysThe SWA for some time now has been working on standardising writersrsquo contracts that cover fair compensation and credit with a Minimum Basic Contract MBC ldquoThe ecosystem is changing and there is pushback now Therefore my advice to young writers is that before they sit at the negotiating table they should be ready to walk awayrdquo says Anjum Rajabali a veteran screenwriter and senior activist of the Screenwriters AssociationDespite tugandpull the MBC has made progress but as Rajabali says the contract will ensure ldquomore vulnerable writers are protectedrdquoIn the meantime what can writers do at an individual level Riya Rajkumar Sharma counsel at AM Sports Law and Management Co who handles gaming media and entertainment law explains ldquoWhen writers submit a script on a portal they often consent to its exploitation in line with the portalrsquos terms and conditions If theyrsquore not careful they may inadvertently surrender all ownership and rights including derivative rights ie the right to create new works based on their original material Moreover when writers share their ideas through such portals they usually have little to no bargaining power It is therefore crucial to understand the implications of any submission Everyone should carefully read all terms and conditions before uploading or sharing their original work on any platformrdquoSharma further clarifies that there is no intellectual property in an idea itself ldquoWhat I mean is that an idea by itself is merely a concept It gains protection only when expressed in a tangible form for example as a written script or a painting The intellectual property rights lie in that expression not in the idea alonerdquo she addsNigam also emphasises the need for writers to speak up instead of simply complaining about it on social media ldquoThe more they speak up the better it is for the entire ecosystem to not allow for this to happen Most writers are fearful and thatrsquos where the problem lies At SWA we have a dispute settlement committee which is specially designed just to do this We handle over 500 cases in a year and we have the capacity to handle even morerdquo he saysWould it then help if copyright and IP law were taught as a module in film schools It would says Anu adding ldquoAlso the art of negotiation We can all benefit from this and learn not just our rights but also a producer or studiorsquos perspectiverdquoNaturally coming together as a community is crucial to this cause Anu says that young writers should constantly check with each other on what kinds of terms and conditions one is agreeing upon She says that trusted whisper networks do exist and writers usually compare notes and red flags before signing projects There is a flipside though ldquoUnfortunately there is such tough competition and such little work that we end up taking these exploitative contracts only because everybody needs workrdquo she says adding that ldquothe responsibility of advocacy at various levels then falls on senior writers which means constantly talking and creating awareness And if there are red flags let the community know Be in that sense champion of the other writers All this while this ecosystem has really thrived on a lack of unity between the writersrdquoRajabali echoes this ldquoIf writers stand unitedhellip collective bargaining is very strongrdquo