“My film partner and I came up with the idea for a film and wrote the script together. But during casting we had a fight and fell apart and now he wants to stop this film from going forward altogether. I still want to continue but he says half the project belongs to him and he won’t give me permission to use his idea. What are my options?”
It sounds like the both of you are co-owners of this project. In these cases, you will have shared rights to your project, including copyright. The best way for you to be able to go forward with the film would be to have the co-owner transfer his rights to you. To do that you’ll need an assignment of copyright and this must be a written agreement. (And as a piece of advice going forward, it’s best if you have a co-ownership agreement before you start the project which lists out the contingencies for resolving disputes or co-ownership issues).
The Queen’s Film & TV Research Group are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice! For more information on copyright law, please see the Copyright Law section of this site. Find out more about Queen’s Law on their website, and Pro Bono Queen’s at the PBSC Queen’s site.