Get Started Author: Contracts and Legal Advice for Writers and Authors

If you are a writer, screenwriter or author working in film, television or publishing, your creative work generates rights, and those rights need to be properly managed, protected and negotiated at every stage of development and production.

Get Started: Author provides the key legal documents for writers working in the Italian and international entertainment industry, drafted and reviewed by DANDI lawyers with specialist knowledge of copyright and entertainment law.

Who We Work With

Screenwriters and TV writers

Writers engaged by Italian or international productions, who need to know what they are assigning, for which uses and for how long, and how their credit and payments are protected.

Novelists and authors

Authors whose books are being optioned or adapted for film, TV or other media, and who want a fair option fee, a clear purchase price and a reversion if the film is never made.

Journalists and non-fiction writers

Writers whose articles, investigations or life stories attract producers, where adaptation rights meet the rights of the real people involved.

Playwrights

Authors licensing their plays for film, television or new stage productions, and negotiating which rights stay with them.

International writers

Writers working with Italian producers or signing contracts governed by Italian law, who need the Italian provisions explained in English.

What We Cover

• Writer agreements: engagement of a writer to develop a screenplay, treatment, series bible or other work, with deliverables, payment, rights and credit.
• Literary option agreements: the exclusive right for a producer to develop and produce a work based on a novel, story, article or other material, for a defined period and fee.
• Literary purchase agreements: the outright acquisition of the rights to adapt and produce a work based on underlying literary property.
• Co-authorship agreements: between writers collaborating on a project, covering ownership, credit, decision-making and revenue sharing.
• Adaptation rights agreements: for adapting existing works such as novels, plays, articles or podcasts into screenplays or other formats.
• Development agreements: between a writer and a producer for the development of an original idea or format.

Why It Matters Under Italian Law

Italian copyright law differs significantly from common law systems. Moral rights, such as the right to be credited and to object to distortions of the work, belong to the author and cannot be transferred. The screenwriter is one of the co-authors of a film, and the authors of a film keep a right to equitable remuneration for certain uses of the work. Collecting societies play a role in how authors are paid. If you are writing for an Italian production or signing a contract under Italian law, you need to understand what you are signing.

DANDI lawyers review every document with the specific requirements of Italian law in mind and flag any provision that may have unexpected consequences.

FAQ

What is an option agreement?

A contract giving a producer the exclusive right, for a limited period and against a fee, to develop a film or series based on your work, and to buy the rights at an agreed price if the project goes ahead. If the option expires, the rights stay with you.

Can I keep any rights when I sell my book to a producer?

Yes. The contract defines which rights are transferred, for which media, territories and duration. Publishing, stage, audio and sequel rights can be kept or negotiated separately.

Can I waive my moral rights under Italian law?

No. Under Italian law moral rights cannot be transferred or waived in general terms. A contract can regulate how they are exercised, for example by accepting specific changes known in advance.

Is the screenwriter an author of the film under Italian law?

Yes. Italian law considers the authors of the story and screenplay co-authors of the film, together with the director and the composer of the music.

Do you work with writers outside Italy?

Yes. We advise international writers working with Italian producers or under Italian law, in English, Italian and Spanish.

Get in Touch

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