In the United States, the need to secure film rights of previously published or produced source materials still under copyright stems from case law.
The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, establishing the precedent that all adaptations are subject to copyright.
A general option fee is 10% of the cost of the rights, should the producers manage to secure full financing for their project and have it "greenlit".
Since real-life events and facts cannot be protected by copyright, an exclusive right to depict someone's life may not be granted.
Rather, life story deals are made mainly to avoid lawsuits from the depicted subject for defamation or invasion of privacy by having them waiver liability claims, and also to secure their cooperation or access to their belongings that may help the production.