# 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. Also known as: WGA separated rights ## In practice 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. ## Official sources & context Sources reviewed Sep 22, 2026 The MBA and the WGA's determinations control. This plain-language orientation does not decide entitlement on any particular project. - [WGA — What are separated rights?](https://www.wga.org/contracts/know-your-rights/what-are-separated-rights) - [WGA — Understanding separated rights](https://www.wga.org/contracts/know-your-rights/understanding-separated-rights) ## Common questions ### Who gets separated rights? 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. ### Can separated rights be negotiated in my contract? Entitlement cannot be negotiated in an individual contract. It follows the MBA's qualification rules and the WGA's determination. ### Does an adaptation carry separated rights? Generally no. When a film or series is based on previously published or produced source material, there are no separated rights in that material. ## Related terms - [Literary material](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/literary-material): A defined category of writer-created material under the WGA MBA that can include screenplays, teleplays, stories, treatments, and other covered writing. It is a contract term, not merely a synonym for prose. - [2026 WGA MBA](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/2026-wga-mba): The current Minimum Basic Agreement between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, effective May 2, 2026, with minimums and working protections for covered writing. - [WGA (Writers Guild of America)](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/wga): The labor union representing film, television, radio, and new-media writers in the United States — two affiliated bodies, the Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East, split by geography. - [AI-generated material](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/ai-generated-material): Text or other material produced by a generative-AI system. Under current WGA MBA rules, GAI is not a writer and its written output is not literary material; separate conditions govern assigned material, source material, and separated rights. - [Read the pillar guide](https://www.inkwell.software/learn/wga-aware-screenwriting-workflows): A longer guide for this workflow --- Canonical page: