timevolt
Opening soon. Receipts and payments aren't open yet.
Timevolt / Screenplay
wga script registration

Pitch the script. Keep the exact dated draft.

WGA script registration — Pitch the script. Keep the exact dated draft. Read what the WGA registry records, and keep Copyright Office registration separate from both it and a file receipt.

A registry record is not copyright registration.

The WGA registry records a dated claim and may supply evidence in a dispute. It does not replace Copyright Office registration. Keep your script versions, registry record and any Copyright Office registration separately; a time receipt sits alongside them.

WGA West Registry
Try a file locally

Your photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.

EXAMPLE
Screenplay
1 Nov 2026
Authority time: 14:02 UTC · example
Bitcoin block time: 14:10 UTC · example
Last checked: 15:02 UTC · example
✓ Dated◆ Permanent
Now keep it safe: three things
  1. Keep your photos and files unedited. The receipt only matches the originals. Put them in an album such as “My records”.
  2. Save this receipt to your camera roll.

    Keep the receipt file too. The image is a handy copy; checking needs the file.

  3. Email it to yourself.Email it to myself

    Your mail app opens a draft. Attach your receipt image and receipt file. Don’t attach your photos or documents. Timevolt does not send it or know whether it was sent.

Your record, one step at a time.

Your photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.

Local preview: files are fingerprinted here. Notes and progress stay in this browser. Keep downloaded copies; browser storage is not a backup.

0 items
How?

Add the exact original files for this part of the record. Keep them unchanged; a different export or edit has a different fingerprint.

Add link and screenshots

The link is recorded, not fetched or verified.

    0 items
    How?

    Record the date, time, place and who you spoke to. New notes are saved separately rather than editing an old note.

    How to keep notes that hold up
    Write it down

    By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.

      By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.

      How to keep notes that hold up

      Write notes as soon as you can. Keep the original account rather than replacing it later; the venue decides what weight it gets.

      1. Write it down straight away, on paper or in the box on a step.
      2. Put the date, time and place at the top, and who you spoke to.
      3. Use their words where you can; separate what you saw from what you were told.
      4. Sign or initial a paper note, photograph it and add the photo.
      5. Never edit an old note. Add a new dated entry when something changes. A device save time is not independent time evidence or proof of event order.
      Screenplay
      Screenplay

      01 · Keep the exact files

      Read what the WGA registry records, and keep Copyright Office registration separate from both it and a file receipt.

      Records to keep: Script

      Screenplay

      02 · Date the file’s code

      Your device fingerprints the selected file or manifest. Dated follows an independent timestamp; Permanent follows Bitcoin anchoring.

      An independent time, tied to the exact bytes.

      Screenplay

      03 · Keep the evidence

      Keep the exact script versions, submission records and registration records alongside each other.

      Keep the originals too. A changed or compressed copy has a different fingerprint.

      Try a file. It stays here.

      Make a test receipt on this device.

      By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.

      or drop a file here

      Real cases: why dated versions matter.

      Real cases where dated records mattered. We don’t claim a time receipt would have changed the result.

      US federal, N.D. Illinois · 2008

      A dated script can support independent creation

      A writer claimed a film copied a script through a guild link. The court found that story not credible and accepted the film side's dated drafts as proof of their own work. It also found only broad likenesses and ruled for them.

      The linked source is a law firm’s case summary.

      Summarized on Oct 29, 2026

      Read the case summary ›
      US federal, E.D. New York · 2025

      Registry entry does not prove script access

      A writer said a film copied a script found through a guild registry. The claim gave no facts linking the film side to that registry or showing enough likeness. After two chances to amend, the court closed the claim for good.

      This account relies on a law firm’s case summary.

      Summarized on Oct 29, 2026

      Read the case summary ›
      US federal, Ninth Circuit · 2008

      Broad plot likenesses do not prove script copying

      A writer said a film copied a screenplay. The appeals court found only common ideas and kept the win for the film side. It did not decide whether they had seen the script.

      Based on a law-firm summary of the 2008 appeal.

      Summarized on Oct 29, 2026

      Read the case summary ›

      What courts, schemes and regulators say.

      Positions below refer to the cited rule or record type, not endorsement of Timevolt. This service is not represented as an eIDAS qualified timestamp provider. A non-qualified timestamp does not receive the qualified timestamp presumption.

      Needs something else · WGA West

      WGA West Registry

      Registration gives a dated record of the writer's claim to authorship. It may be produced as evidence if legal action starts. It does not replace Library of Congress registration.

      The registry itself says copyright ownership questions belong with the Library of Congress. A Timevolt receipt is not a registry entry.

      Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.

      Read the source
      Needs something else · US

      Copyright Office registration and recovery of damages

      Copyright Office registration is separate from WGA registration. Registration and its timing can affect available remedies and evidentiary weight; this row is secondary guidance.

      The supplied summary’s numerical timing claim was not used. The verified 17 USC 410(c) row elsewhere in this export refers to first publication, not creation. A private receipt does not replace registration.

      Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.

      Read the source
      Accepts · US federal courts

      Copyright infringement cases

      The plaintiff generally must show access and substantial similarity, or independent creation can be a defense. Courts have credited dated registrations as evidence of independent creation.

      In the John Q case the court treated the defendants' 1993 evidence of independent creation, which included dated WGA registrations, as sufficient. The plaintiff also held a WGA registration but lost on access and similarity. No court acceptance of a Bitcoin-anchored RFC 3161 receipt was found.

      Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.

      Read the source

      Other ways to do this

      Prices change. Check each provider’s site for current prices and service details.

      • WGA West Registry

        Registers a writer's declared claim to a work.

        Visit site

      • US Copyright Office registration (eCO)

        Provides legal registration.

        Visit site

      • Dramatists Guild copyright guidance

        Explains copyright registration options for writers.

        Visit site

      • Final Draft and Script Mag guides

        Provides guides to copyright and script registration.

        Visit site

      Related workflows.

      Original articleCourse or curriculumNovel or manuscriptPoemsQuarterly user access review: the reviewer list, decisions and removals frozen as submittedAccess or license request, manager approval and grant

      Proves / Doesn’t prove

      Proves

      A completed time receipt shows that the exact selected file existed by the independently witnessed time. You can check whether a later copy has the same bytes. It does not establish creation time, authorship, identity, event order, location or the truth of the contents.

      Doesn’t prove

      It does not prove you wrote the script, that anyone saw it, that another work copied it, or that a court or the WGA will accept it. It is also not copyright registration.

      This does not establish authorship, access, similarity or ownership, and it is not a WGA or Copyright Office registration.

      These are the bounds of a completed proof. The local tester does not establish any time. The chosen court, scheme or regulator decides what to accept.

      Questions, answered plainly.

      Your file stays on your device. During normal receipt creation, your device sends a randomized code made from its fingerprint, plus encrypted recovery data. It doesn't send the plain fingerprint or the random value that opens the code. Keep the original file and the complete receipt for checking. Privacy Policy.

      Is a time receipt the same as WGA registration?

      Your file stays on your device. During normal receipt creation, your device sends a randomized code made from its fingerprint, plus encrypted recovery data. It doesn't send the plain fingerprint or the random value that opens the code. Keep the original file and the complete receipt for checking.

      Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.

      Context for this answer
      Does it replace copyright registration?

      No. The WGA registry says it does not take the place of Library of Congress registration. Registration timing and other legal conditions determine the available remedies. A time receipt does not replace registration.

      Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.

      Context for this answer
      Do I have copyright before I register?

      Copyright exists once a work is fixed in tangible form. Registration adds enforcement benefits.

      Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.

      Context for this answer
      Does the receipt prove someone stole my script?

      A completed time receipt shows that the exact selected file existed by the independently witnessed time. You can check whether a later copy has the same bytes. It does not establish creation time, authorship, identity, event order, location or the truth of the contents.

      Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.

      Context for this answer
      Is my script uploaded?

      Your file stays on your device. During normal receipt creation, your device sends a randomized code made from its fingerprint, plus encrypted recovery data. It doesn't send the plain fingerprint or the random value that opens the code. Keep the original file and the complete receipt for checking.

      Should I get a receipt for every draft?

      A receipt per version is useful. Each draft can have its own receipt. Keep the draft versions and receipts together. Changing even one character in a file produces a different fingerprint.

      Can a dated draft help a defendant too?

      Yes. In one decided case the defendants relied on dated 1993 and 1994 registrations of their screenplay to show it was created before the plaintiff's.

      Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.

      Context for this answer

      The file tester runs on your device. It does not issue a timestamp or take a payment.

      Keep the records you already have.

      Keep your original files and any existing official records while the receipt service is being prepared.