The industry agreement that deals with the acquisition of copyright licences from writers of in-house-produced BBC programmes is the Television Drama Framework Agreement between the BBC and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB). It sets out the terms on which the BBC commissions scripts of at least 15 minutes’ duration from writers.

It covers scripts for:

• An episode of a series or serial for which the writer provides the format;
• An episode of a series or serial for which the BBC or a third party provides the format and characters;

• An original teleplay;
• An adaptation;
• A dramatisation;
• An episode of a series or serial for which the BBC or a third party provides not just the format and characters, but also a story outline.

All these terms are carefully defined by the agreement. The agreement does not apply to programmes made in Gaelic or Welsh, except where programmes are made simultaneously in Welsh and English.