Registering your screenplay with the US Copyright Office.

These are two different things, and it helps to keep them separate in your head:

• Copyright registration is a formal filing with the US Copyright Office (a part of the Library of Congress). In the US, copyright exists automatically the moment you fix an original work in tangible form — but registering it creates a public record and, generally, is a prerequisite for filing an infringement suit over a US work. It can also affect the remedies available to you. Confirm the specifics for your situation at copyright.gov.
• A process record — what Telos produces — is a private, factual account of how your draft evolved: which operations you ran, what you refined, which AI suggestions you kept or rejected, and a cryptographic hash of that history. It is evidence about your process. It is not a government filing and confers no legal status by itself.

Timestamping — including the optional RFC 3161 timestamp Telos can attach — attests that a file existed at a certain moment. That is useful, but it is not the same as registration and does not substitute for it.

The steps below are a general sketch of how screenplay registration typically works. Treat them as orientation, not instructions — the authoritative source is always copyright.gov, and the details can change.

1. Register online through the eCO system. The Copyright Office's electronic registration portal (“eCO”) at copyright.gov is the standard route and is generally cheaper and faster than paper. You create an account and file an application there.
2. Choose the right application type. A screenplay is a literary work. Some applicants register a screenplay under the “Work of the Performing Arts” category, which covers works prepared for performance. The correct category can depend on the work and on current Copyright Office practice, so confirm the applicable form and category on copyright.gov before you file rather than relying on this page.
3. Provide the required information. You'll identify the author(s), the claimant, the title, the year of creation, and whether the work has been published. Answer these carefully — errors on an application can create problems later.
4. Submit a deposit copy. Registration requires depositing a copy of the work being registered — for an unpublished screenplay, typically an electronic copy of the script uploaded through eCO. The exact deposit requirements are set by the Copyright Office; check the current rules.
5. Pay the filing fee. There is a fee to register. As of writing, the standard online filing fee for a single work is roughly in the $45–$65 range, with different amounts for different application types. Fees change — confirm the current fee schedule at copyright.gov before you rely on any number here.
6. Wait for the certificate. Once your application is processed and approved, the Copyright Office issues a registration certificate. Processing times vary; the effective date of registration generally relates back to when you submitted a complete application.

The Telos forensic export (a PDF/A “Creative Process Record” plus a structured lineage.json and an optional RFC 3161 timestamp) is designed to serve as supporting evidence of your creative process. If a question ever arises about how a screenplay was written — in a dispute, a chain-of-title review, or a conversation with an attorney — that record lets you show, factually, what happened as you wrote.

What it can help with:

• Documenting the timeline and the human refinement behind a draft, in one auditable file.
• Giving your attorney or a reviewer concrete material to work from, instead of memory.
• Complementing a registration — process evidence alongside the formal public record.

What it is not:

• It is not proof of authorship. It presents facts about the process; it does not adjudicate who the author is.
• It is not a copyright registration and does not substitute for one.
• It is not a guarantee of any legal outcome.

In short: Telos gives you the notebook. Whoever judges — an attorney, a court, the Copyright Office, a festival jury — still judges. Registering your work is a separate step, and this guide exists so you know to take it. You can read the full methodology behind the record on the provenance page.

For anything authoritative — forms, categories, deposit rules, current fees, and processing status — start at the source:

• copyright.gov — the US Copyright Office, including the eCO registration portal and the current fee schedule.
• A qualified copyright or entertainment attorney, for advice on your specific work and situation.

If you write outside the US, registration regimes differ by country — this guide covers the US Copyright Office only.