Screenwriting as Business or Service: An Indian Legal Analysis

Abstract

Screenwriting is not just an art anymore, it is a business as well as a service. The distinction, however, is very subtle and not properly established, and confuses not just screenwriters but also certified professional chartered accountants. Screenwriting is very unique profession in the sense that it occupies both an intersection of creative artistry as well as commercial enterprise. This paper, therefore, examines whether screenwriting is classified as a “business” or a “service” under Indian law. What we focus here is its treatment in several fields of law such as intellectual property (IP), taxation, labour, and contract law frameworks and figure how it is treated. I explore several Indian statutes as well – notably the Copyright Act, 1957 for the rights purposes and the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017 for tax purposes– and we try to analyse how they classify and regulate screenwriting. My entire analysis covers screenwriters’ rights in the works they create for eg. copyright ownership of screenplays, moral rights regarding the ownership, royalty entitlements in the future course and their obligations such as tax liabilities under service tax and also under GST. Screenwriting is majorly different from novel writing because it never gets published. The Life frame of a screenplay ends when the film is made on it and the screenwriters has a history of exploitation around the world. It is basically an instruction manual for filmmakers and not an end in itself. The paper also addresses the legal nature of a screenwriter’s engagement, whether as independent contractors providing services or as employees, implicating labour and contract law (e.g. distinctions between contracts for service and of service) and as a business enterprise, by selling a screenplay to production house in return of a compensation. The paper highlights Indian case law only and is majorly from Indian Perspective. We researched from landmark Supreme Court judgments on copyright and authorship to recent disputes where screenwriters enforced their rights in films and OTT/web series. However, while writing this paper we chose to refrain from using screenplay works in television in order to narrow down the area of research as it would have become extremely vast then. So we focused on one particular sector as screenwriting work completely differs in the television sector and it is mostly a service as most TV production houses hires in-house writers to write their screenplays and mostly keep them on monthly wages. We did try to touch the International case studies to a limited extent, especially from the United States, only to support our arguments. Why United States? It is because United States is the top most industry for producing the quality films in the world and also because US copyright laws are more evolved than any other country in the world. United States was the first country to take copyright issues very seriously in our opinion. So the laws, case studies and judgements are used to compare how other jurisdictions also treat screenwriting – for instance, the American practice of treating screenwriting as a work-for-hire service are governed by union agreements rather than strong moral rights. No such thing exists in India as the Unions are mostly ineffective here and act as money –grabbing tools. Through this comparative lens, the paper contextualizes India’s legal position and identifies areas for reform in the profession of screenwriting. The discussion in the paper is mostly geared toward industry professionals, screenwriters, and legal practitioners, emphasizing practical implications of statutes, case law, and contractual norms. There are several screenwriters whom I personally know, who without knowing their rights, are still filing their income tax under Business section. Also there is a debate whether a registered lawyer can perform screenwriting or not, because if it is a business, then Lawyers in India are prohibited from holding any business while performing duties of the law in order to maintain the sanctity of the profession. If it is service then they can do it probably. Results indicate that Indian law largely treats screenwriting as a service (particularly for taxation and contractual engagement), while recent legal developments strengthen screenwriters’ status as authors with inalienable rights. The paper concludes with suggestions to further clarify legal classifications and better protect screenwriters’ interests in India, drawing on international best practices.

Introduction

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Conclusion

Screenwriting in India stands at the intersection of art, law, and commerce – and the law has increasingly tilted in favour of recognizing the screenwriter’s craft as a protected service. Through this analysis, we conclude that while screenwriting involves the creation and subsequent commercial exploitation of a literary work (the script), Indian legal frameworks categorize it predominantly as the provision of a service by the screenwriter, rather than a straightforward sale of a product or a traditional employment role. This nuanced classification is evident in multiple facets as a screenwriter is an author (service-renderer) in the first instance, a supplier of copyrighted content under tax laws, and typically an independent contractor under labour laws. The implications for industry professionals are significant. Producers must understand that hiring a screenwriter is not just about buying a story; it is about engaging a creative professional who has certain inextinguishable rights. Gone are the days when a writer could be paid off and forgotten – today a writer has the legal backing to claim credit and royalties, and to enforce these rights in court if necessary. For screenwriters, the legal developments are empowering, they enter negotiations with the knowledge that the law supports fair compensation (including future earnings from their work) and attribution. However, with great power comes responsibility – writers too should act professionally, delivering quality work and honouring contracts, as the flip side of being treated as a professional service is to behave like one. From a legal practitioner’s viewpoint, this area of law now calls for interdisciplinary awareness. A lawyer drafting or reviewing a screenwriting contract must consider contract law, copyright law, tax law, and even labour implications. They must ensure that the contract clearly assigns rights to the producer (to avoid future disputes like the Nayak case ), but also that it does not overreach into void territory (such as waiving royalties or moral rights, which would be struck down ). Similarly, advising a screenwriter involves ensuring they register their works (with SWA or copyright office), honour confidentiality (to preserve breach of confidence claims), and are aware of their tax obligations. A comparative lens shows India is moving towards global best practices in protecting writers. The U.S. model of union-driven benefits and the European model of statutory rights are both partially reflected in India’s current regime. The conclusion one can draw is that screenwriting is increasingly being “professionalized” in India – legally and economically. It is no longer an informal arrangement in the shadow of the glamor of directors and actors; it’s a recognized field with its own set of laws and norms. However, the journey is incomplete. Law in books does not automatically translate to law in action. Enforcement of royalties, as the New Indian Express piece quipped, has been “112 years of missing royalties” for Indian screenwriters, and only now in 2025 is that starting to change . Going forward, it will be essential for stakeholders to bridge the gap between what the law promises and what the industry delivers. Producers need to update their practices (for example, by reporting film exploitation data to SRAI for royalty distribution), and writers need to assert their rights through the mechanisms now available. In closing, this legal analysis paints a hopeful picture. Screenwriting in India, though rooted in freelance and work-for-hire traditions, is evolving into a well-defined service sector under the law. It carries both the freedom and uncertainty of entrepreneurship (since most writers are freelancers) and the security of legal rights (thanks to statutes and case law acknowledging their contributions). For a thriving creative industry, this balance is healthy – it incentivizes writers to produce original, high-quality content (knowing they’ll be credited and share in success), and it assures producers that once rights are acquired on fair terms, they can capitalize on the content across platforms. The narrative of Indian screenwriting is thus shifting from one of anonymity and one-off transactions to one of professionalism and partnership. Legally, we conclude that screenwriting is neither just a business nor just a service – it is a creative service embedded within a business framework, deserving of the careful legal protections India has begun to put in place. With continued vigilance and cooperation between creators, industry, and lawmakers, this framework can ensure that the people who “bleed on paper” to create the magic of movies and series are duly respected and rewarded for their services in the long run.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Shitiz Srivastava. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.