An interesting question is, would Warner Bros attempt to sue a leaker and claim damages, if by definition a written-off movie has no value (and thus no revenue potential to claim damages against)?
Per the Copyright Office[1]:
A work is fixed when it is captured (either by or under the authority of an author) in a sufficiently permanent medium such that the work can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated for more than a short time. For example, a work is fixed when you write it down or record it.
It sounds like the ideal solution would be to shore up the tax law to prevent this situation in the first place, but if that's not possible and it will continue to be profitable to create art just to trash it then the works should at least be released to the public domain so that we're not losing the art.
In a similar story that’s the center point of the lost Doctor Who episodes case.
BBC literally throw away the reels > workers saved them from thrash > BBC now looking for the lost episodes, everyone knows who has them but they are reluctant to give it back in fear of prosecution (BBC can’t grant clemency)
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/11/lost-do...