What is copyright preregistration for a film still in production?

Workprints, screeners and VFX shots pass through many hands before a film comes out, and a leak can happen before there is a finished film to register. Our production legal and clearance page covers the paperwork that protects a production as a whole. This page explains the one filing designed for the period between the first day of shooting and release, based on 17 U.S.C. 408(f), the Copyright Office's preregistration rule and its preregistration page.

How preregistration works, step by step

1. Check the three conditions. The work must be unpublished, being prepared for commercial distribution, and in a class the Register has found has "a history of infringement prior to authorized commercial release." Motion pictures are one of those classes (37 CFR 202.16(b)).
2. Make sure filming has begun. For a motion picture, "filming of the motion picture must have commenced," and the claimant must have a reasonable expectation that it will be commercially distributed to the public.
3. Write the description. No copy of the film is deposited. Instead you give a description of not more than 2,000 characters, about 330 words, covering to the extent known the subject matter, a summary or outline, the director, the primary actors and the principal filming location (202.16(c)(6)).
4. File Form PRE and pay. The application is electronic only, and the fee is $200 as of October 4, 2026 (Copyright Office fees). It is not refunded, whether or not the work is preregistered.
5. Certify. The filer must be the author, the claimant, an owner of exclusive rights, or an authorized agent of one of them, and must certify that the film is being prepared for commercial distribution (202.16(c)(8)).
6. Receive the notice. The Office conducts a limited review and emails an official notification. The effective date is the day the application and fee arrived, and the record becomes public (202.16(c)(7) to (12)).
7. Register in full after release. Within 3 months after first publication, submit an application, a deposit and the fee (17 U.S.C. 408(f)(3)). Our page on how to register a film or screenplay walks through that filing.

When is preregistration worth it?

The Copyright Office is blunt: "For the vast majority of works, preregistration is not useful." It says you may benefit if you think someone is likely to infringe before release and you have started the work but not finished it. A finished but unreleased film can simply be registered as an unpublished work, which gives you more.

The value is in the remedies. No suit over a U.S. work can start until "preregistration or registration" has been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), and a timely preregistration keeps statutory damages and attorney's fees available for an early leak (17 U.S.C. 412). Statutory damages run from $750 to $30,000 per work, and up to $150,000 for willful infringement; our page on copyright infringement damages explains how courts set them.

Which works can be preregistered, and when?

Only six classes qualify, each with its own starting point. All copyrightable elements first published together in the same unit of publication, with the same claimant, count as one work on one application and one fee (202.16(c)(4)). That means a production company that owns the script and score can cover them with the film.

Authors whose book is still being written can compare this with our page on book copyright registration and Library of Congress deposit.

A score or song owned by a composer rather than the production is a different claimant, so it needs its own filing as a musical composition. Our page on registering a song and its recording explains why music carries two copyrights.

What deadlines apply after release?

The Copyright Office summarizes the consequence the same way: if full registration is late, "a court must dismiss an action for copyright infringement that occurred before or within the first two months after first publication." For statutory damages and fees, section 412 also requires that the film was preregistered before the infringement began.

Watch the publication date closely. Offering a copy for festival exhibition may be publication (Circular 45), and when distribution is offered during production, the film counts as published once it is completed (Compendium 808.10(I)(3)). A theatrical screening alone is not publication.

What does preregistration not do?

It is not prima facie evidence that the copyright is valid, and it creates no presumption that the Office will later register the film (202.16(c)(13)). It does not stop a leak by itself: getting copies taken down is a separate step, set out on our page on what a DMCA takedown notice must include.

It also does not protect the concept. Copyright covers expression, not ideas, which our page on whether someone can steal your film or show idea explains. And the description is tested later: in a lawsuit, a court may decide whether it actually describes the work alleged to be infringed, taking into account what you knew when you filed and your legitimate interest in confidentiality (202.16(c)(6)).

What changes the answer

• Who owns the film. The claimant should be the entity that will own the finished work. If crew agreements do not make their work the company's, fix that first; see our page on whether a production owns what its writers and crew create.
• A script you cannot show yet. The Office may accept a redacted screenplay for registration while the film is in production and infringement is anticipated, if at least half is revealed and the full script follows within ten business days after release (Compendium 804.8(C)).
• Live events. A broadcast fixed at the same time it is transmitted follows a different rule: serve notice on the infringer at least 48 hours before the broadcast and register within three months after first transmission (17 U.S.C. 411(c)).
• A finished cut. Once a complete cut exists, registering it as unpublished usually serves better, at a lower fee, as the Office's guidance suggests.
• Gaps in the paperwork. A preregistration filed by the wrong entity becomes one more chain of title problem that can stall a distribution deal.

A worked example

Common mistakes

• Filing before cameras roll. A film in development or preproduction is not yet eligible.
• Treating the notice as a registration. Without the full filing after release, the benefits fall away.
• Missing the one-month clock. Learning of a leak can move your deadline months earlier.
• A description too thin to match the film. A court may find it does not identify the work in suit.
• Putting secrets in a public record. Plot twists and unannounced casting do not need to go in.
• Preregistering a finished film. Registering the unpublished cut costs less and gives evidentiary weight.

What to do this week

1. Confirm the first day of principal photography and which entity will own the film.
2. List who will handle footage before release: editors, VFX vendors, screener recipients.
3. Draft the description using the elements in 37 CFR 202.16(c)(6)(i), under 2,000 characters.
4. File Form PRE, pay the $200 fee and save the email notification.
5. Calendar three months after the planned release, and set a rule that any leak starts a one-month clock.
6. Prepare the full registration package, including the written description and credits, before release; our page on registration fees and processing times shows the options.
7. If a leak has already happened in Georgia or elsewhere, read what happens in an Atlanta federal copyright lawsuit before you respond.

Frequently asked questions

Can I preregister a screenplay before filming?

Not as a screenplay. The six classes do not include scripts or other dramatic works on their own, and a motion picture qualifies only once filming begins. An unpublished script can be registered at any time instead.

Does a TV series still shooting qualify?

Yes, a television program is a motion picture (Compendium 808.5), so it qualifies once filming starts. One application covers what is first published together in one unit of publication, so episodes released on different dates may each need their own filing.

Will people be able to see my preregistration?

Yes. The record is made public on the Copyright Office website, and the Office offers a search of preregistration records approved since October 2005.

Do I get the $200 back if the film is never released?

No. The fee is nonrefundable whether or not the work is preregistered, and no further filing is due if the film is never published and never infringed.

What if the cast or title changes after I file?

The description only has to rest on information available when you filed, and a court considers that timing. The full registration after release then records the finished film as it is.

Does preregistration let a court order the leak removed?

It lets you file suit, and the Copyright Act allows courts to grant injunctions in infringement cases (17 U.S.C. 502). Faster practical relief often comes from takedown notices to the sites hosting the copies.

Zala IP Law advises producers and production companies on protecting films before release, including preregistration, registration and the chain of title documents behind them. If you are in production or facing a leak, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701.