Screenwriters send scripts to contests, managers, producers and fellowships long before anything is produced, and similar projects turn up all the time. If you ever need to show that your draft existed first, the records you keep while writing matter. Here is what Final Draft and other screenwriting apps record, what is weak, and what to freeze.
Short answer: Final Draft, Fade In and Word dates come from your own computer, and contest receipts only cover what you entered. To show a script existed before a date, timestamp the exact draft file and its PDF with TimeBinder before you send it out. A TimeBind shows that the exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. It doesn’t show who made it or what a court will make of it.
Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, co-founder of TimeBinder, the file timestamping tool this guide uses. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Table of Contents
What your script files record
- The script file itself. Final Draft’s .fdx is an XML file. Fade In, Highland, WriterDuet and Fountain files are also text-based. None of them keeps a trustworthy record of when each page was written.
- Draft dates and revision sets. The draft date on the title page and the dates attached to coloured revision sets are typed by you.
- Backups. Final Draft and other apps can keep automatic backups, dated by your computer’s clock.
- Third-party traces. Contest and fellowship submission receipts, emails to readers and hosting-site uploads, which are recorded by someone else.
Why that is easy to challenge
Title-page dates, revision dates and file dates all come from you or your computer. Emails and submission receipts are better because a third party holds them, but they rarely let you show exactly which pages were attached, and you may not be able to get them later.
Registry, registration and timestamps
- WGAW Registry: deposits a copy of your script with a date. Listed at US$20 for non-members and US$10 for members, for five years, renewable.
- US Copyright Office registration: the legal step that matters if you are in the US and might sue. See copyright registration vs a timestamp.
- TimeBinder: records the fingerprint of each exact file without uploading it, so you can date every draft, outline and treatment, not just the one you register.
What to freeze
- Every numbered draft, as both the PDF and the native file (.fdx, .fadein, .fountain).
- Outlines, beat sheets and treatments. Early material often matters most in a similarity dispute.
- The exact PDF you submit to each contest, manager or producer, so the file they received matches your record.
- Notes and research that show how the story developed.
A simple routine
- When you finish a draft, export the PDF and save a copy of the native file with the draft number in the name.
- TimeBind the PDF, native file and any outline or treatment together in TimeBinder.
- Before each submission, check that the PDF you are sending is the one you TimeBound. If you changed anything, TimeBind the new PDF.
- Keep a simple log: draft, date, who received it. Store certificates with the files.
Which plan fits
The free plan gives you 1 Token a month, which is one Pooled TimeBind of up to 10 files. No credit card is required for the free plan. A Pooled TimeBind is usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity; an ASAP TimeBind costs 3 Tokens and gets its own Bitcoin transaction straight away.
For more milestones, Essential is US$20 a month for 5 Tokens (5 Pooled, or 1 ASAP plus 2 Pooled). Expert is US$50 a month for 15 Tokens (15 Pooled or 5 ASAP), and unused Tokens roll over. Verification is free. See pricing.
What a timestamp does and doesn’t do
TimeBinder anchors each file’s SHA-256 fingerprint to Bitcoin and gives you a Proof of Time Certificate. That is verifiable evidence of when a file existed: it shows the file existed no later than the anchor date, and any later change to the file is detectable. An ASAP TimeBind can be checked directly on the Bitcoin blockchain without relying on TimeBinder; a Pooled TimeBind is verified through TimeBinder. Your file is hashed in your browser and never uploaded.
It doesn’t show who made the work or who owns it, it doesn’t stop copying, and it doesn’t cover a version you didn’t timestamp. Similarity claims also turn on access and how much was actually copied. See how to prove a manuscript existed before submitting and manuscript timestamping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is WGA registration better than a timestamp?
They do different things. The WGAW Registry keeps a deposit copy of your script with a date for five years (US$20 for non-members, US$10 for members as listed in 2026). A timestamp records an exact file without uploading it and covers every draft cheaply. Many writers use the registry or copyright registration for finished drafts and timestamps for everything in between.
Should I register my screenplay with the US Copyright Office?
If you are in the US and might need to sue, yes. Registration gives legal benefits a timestamp or registry cannot. See our comparison of copyright registration and timestamps.
Do I timestamp the .fdx or the PDF?
Both. The PDF is what readers and contests see, so it is the easiest to match. The .fdx (or your app’s native file) is the editable source that shows the draft is yours to work on.
Does a timestamp protect my idea or logline?
No. Copyright protects your expression, not ideas or premises. A timestamp shows when your pages existed, which matters most when two scripts are alike in their details.
Plan details were checked against timebinder.io/pricing on 29 October 2026.
