Matthew Burdorff wrote: >>Submission will not be read, >>considered or otherwise without standard industry waiver!!! > >What exactly is the standard industry waiver on a screenplay and should I >sign one or would that eventually work against me? Can anyone help? > "Standard" is a misnomer because there is no true "standard", but they do tend to be similar. HOWEVER, it is really the responsibility of the producer to provide a disclaimer by fax, email, or mail NOT the writer's responsibility to think one up. I noticed this person's error when they posted this originally, but didn't mention anything. The usual industry waiver says something to the effect of "the writer recognizes that ideas and subject matter for feature films are often similar and that it is possible that the producer is already considering similar material.... blah blah blah... and that the writer will not sue the producer no matter what the producer releases in the future... blah blah blah..." Should you sign one? Better answer is this: Don't ever send your script to someone who is not reputable and when you send it to them, yes do sign it and don't make a big deal about it because that's unprofessional. But make sure they are reputable or you have a personal reference. Fact of the matter is that ideas just plain get stolen and whatever is signed doesn't protect you. Case in point: The writer of virtuosity had just finished helping to younger writers on a VR script and was "inspired" to write one of his own eventhough he'd never knew much of anything about VR before he met them. Did he steal the idea? No, it was a different idea. On the flip side is this: If you have a great great script, it is great because of the sequence of events and that's not going to be copied and any reputable company is just going to buy it. It's quicker that way. Good Luck! Sincerely, Mark Allen Xantherboy ****XANTHER ****http://www.directnet.com/~xanther/ ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]