copyright
Writing a Script Based on Existing World
<p>Would there be anything illegal if i were to write a script based in the same world as one already existing movie, making reference to some of the characters?</p>

<p>For example, if I wrote a script based on The Matrix, but not about Neo and them. But based on a new character who lives in the Matrix and see the events. Would it be alright to include characters like the Agents or Oracle. Would I be able to copy-write the script? </p>

<p>The question is whether the new script would constitute a <em>derivative work</em> of the existing movie(s). If it used significant distinctive elements of the setting, that might well make it a derivative work. If it used such elements only briefly, or the elements it borrowed are generic and have been used in many different previous works, that would not be a derivative work.</p>

<p>This is a judgement that depends on the specific facts of the situation, but as described in the question, it sounds as if the new script would be a derivative work.</p>

<p>A derivative work still has its own individual copyright, but it is copyright infringement to create or distribute a derivative work without permission from the copyright holder on the base work. When that base work is a major commercial movie, such permission is unlikely to be granted, and the copyright holder might well take action if there is any attempt to distribute the infringing derivative work.</p>

<p>By the way, the legal term is "copyright", meaning the right to make copies. There is no such thing as "copy-write". This is a common mistake. Also, under modern copyright law, the moment a work is written down, or otherwise "fixed in a tangible form", it is protected by copyright. The author does not need to "copyright" the work. The author can, in the US, <em>register</em> the work, which gives some additional legal protections.  But basic protection is automatic.</p>
