Film Rights - Chain of Title

Chain of Title

As it is common for scripts to be stuck in development hell, the options for a script may expire and be re-sold multiple times. As well, producers who purchase an option and re-work the script own the rights to their own derivative work- while the original rights holder owns the underlying rights. This lineage is referred to as the chain of title. This lineage can become cloudy if the underlying rights are divided. Producers may purchase the rights to specific territories (i.e. a country, the entire world, or the universe) and/or they may purchase ancillary rights such as merchandising rights.

In some cases, it may be uncertain as to the exact owners of a particular version of a script and to the exact set of rights. It is important for an entertainment lawyer to determine how 'clean' a chain of title is.

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