Also known as WGA separated rights
Rights in original material that the WGA Basic Agreement separates from the copyright a company acquires and conveys to the writer — for a feature, publication and dramatic stage rights; for television, a wider set of reserved rights.
Copyright is a bundle of rights. When a signatory company buys or commissions an original script, it acquires that copyright, but the MBA separates certain rights out for the writer. For a theatrical film, publication rights and dramatic stage rights are licensed back to the writer; for television, the writer's reserved rights include stage, theatrical, publication, merchandising, radio, live-television, and interactive rights, among others.
Entitlement is not a clause to negotiate into a deal. The MBA sets qualification rules and the WGA makes the final determination. In general the material must be original — not based on previously published or produced source material — and the writer must receive a qualifying credit: Story by, Written by, or Screen Story by on a feature; Story by, Written by, or Created by on television.
Separated rights are why an original screenwriter may hold the stage or publication rights to their own story. They also interact with the WGA's AI rules: qualifying company-furnished AI material cannot be used to disqualify a writer from separated rights. Questions about a specific project go to the WGA's contracts department.
Generally the writer of original material who receives a qualifying credit — Story by, Written by, or Screen Story by on a feature; Story by, Written by, or Created by on television. The WGA makes the final determination.
Entitlement cannot be negotiated in an individual contract. It follows the MBA's qualification rules and the WGA's determination.
Generally no. When a film or series is based on previously published or produced source material, there are no separated rights in that material.
