The WGA stands for the Writers Guild of America, and for those of you who don’t know what the WGA is, I will briefly explain it. The Guild is similar to SAG/AFTRA in that it protects writers and gives them a general rules and regulations guideline. They offer services that can protect your scripts, material, and whatever else you may be writing. They offer you the legal services, as well as residuals for you work, etc… Joining the WGA is mandatory, just as is SAG/AFTRA because without it Studios would probably try to get out of paying their writers correctly, giving healthcare, and deciding themselves who would get the “Written By” credit.
      If you are a writer and have just completed a script, congratulations. You took hold of an art form that can be difficult to get products with and you got one! Your script is not something that can be pushed off to the side it is a major accomplishment. Writing a script is hard work and easy to stop in the middle of. You may not know what your next step is. You may have heard of something called the WGA. A lot of writers assume that just because they have finished their script they have to register it with the WGA. If you are someone that writes professionally and is a part of the WGA, then, of course, you have to register your script. But if you are not yet a part of the guild, you have different options.
      To register something with the Guild you simply go online and pay a fee to register it. There can be a sense of comfort in registering your work with the WGA because when you pay the fee and get your ID, you have officially documented that you are the author and owner of that material. If someone creates something just like it, then you have the right to sue him or her because it was your work and you deserve the credit for it. But this only works when you have exact evidence. When you have your work registered it protects you from the small marginal of chance that your exact work will be stolen.
      Overall, when you are sending your script to a ton of people from getting notes from anyone and everyone you know in the industry to pitching it to official Networks. If you feel more protected when you register your work, making you the official owner of this material, that is what you should do! As someone who has gone both ways on the registration and never had their work stolen, I would suggest trying it out for yourself and see what feels safer for your own art and work.