ENTERTAINMENT LAW FOR MOVIE MAKERS The Got Movie Meetup June 24, 2015
Aug 06, 2015
ENTERTAINMENT LAW
FOR MOVIE MAKERS
The Got Movie Meetup
June 24, 2015
MOVIE MAKING
�Movie making is a combination of:
• Creativity and art
• Personal and business rights
�Many laws, rules and regulations apply
MOVIE MAKING AND THE LAW
� Important legal areas for Movie Makers
• Copyrights & Trademarks
• Permissions & Clearances
• Business Entity protections
COPYRIGHTS
� Copyright protection is under Federal, not State, law
� Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov
� Copyrights protect artistic expressions but not ideas
� Warning: things found in movies such as props, video clips,
music, sounds, pictures, magazine covers and many other items
may be subject to third party copyrights and/or trademarks
WHO OWNS A COPYRIGHT?
� THE CREATOR(S): Absent an agreement to the contrary, the
creator(s) are the owners of the copyright in the work.
OR
� THE EMPLOYER: Works made for hire (17 USC 101)
(a) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
(b) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use … (2) as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, if the parties expressly agree in writing that it is a work made for hire.
DERIVATIVE WORKS
� Right to exclude all others from creating works based on
copyrighted original work
� Protects authors from having movies made without permission of
author
� Protects against unauthorized sequels
PERFORMANCE RIGHTS
� Right to exclude all others from publicly performing a work
without permission
• Applies to literary, musical, dramatic, pantomime, choreographic,
movies, & other audiovisual works.
• Except for purely pictorial works and sound recordings, includes all
copyrightable works
� Exclusion of sound recordings is important
• Performers have no rights to royalties, but composers of original
work may have rights
EXCEPTIONS TO COPYRIGHT
� Fair Use – the largest area of exceptions
� Right of use for promotion
• A store can play selections to promote sales
� Right to make copy to maintain or repair it, or to serve as an
archival backup
INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
� Substantial similarity test
� If copying not admitted, it can be inferred by access to the
copyrighted work
� Liability has been found with
• Innocent infringement (not knowing the work was copyrighted)
• Unconscious infringement (not being consciously aware of the prior
work)
TYPES OF INFRINGEMENT
� Direct Infringement – violation of at least one of rights protected
by copyright
� Contributory Infringement – inducing, causing, or materially
contributing to the infringing conduct of another person
� Vicarious Infringement – right to control infringer acts and
receives benefit from acts
COPYRIGHTING YOUR OWN WORK
� Copyright is automatic when your work is fixed in a copy for the
first time
� Copyright notice is optional. If used, be sure to use it properly
� © 2015 Filmmaker
� More information at www.copyright.gov
TRADEMARKS
� Trademarks are identifiers of the source of a product or service.
For example, Coca Cola ® for carbonated drinks or Kleenex® for
facial tissues.
� Use or placement of third party trademarks (e.g. in a film) can be
an infringement of their trademark rights
� Movie titles are not usually subject to trademark protection unless
part of a series or having acquired distinctiveness in the marketplace
PERMISSIONS AND CLEARANCES
� Logos, brand names and trademarks
� Copyrighted materials
� Films, tapes, artwork and still photos
� Music
� Likenesses
� Character names, addresses, phone numbers, license plates
� Locations
LOGOS, BRAND NAMES, TRADEMARKS
� Distinctive personal property identifiable with a person or entity
may require consent to be used in a film (products, pictures,
magazines, etc.)
� Using in a defamatory fashion may result in a slander/libel action
� If non-distinctive background use in a public area may not need
permission
� Consider a prop house or other source of cleared materials
COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS
� Try to avoid using copyrighted works of others.
� Use fictitious names, companies, products in your works of fiction
� Get written consent (license or release) from authors, creators and
writers of all materials used in the film
� Includes copyrighted works (e.g. quotations, pictures, etc.) within
copyrighted works
FILM CLIPS, ARTWORK, PHOTOS
� Need permission of company that owns or licenses the work. Note:
ownership can change over time.
� Multiple levels of releases may be required (e.g. WGA, SGA, Director’s
Guild, American Federation of Musicians, etc.)
� Clearances of clips including music even more complex.
� Photos may need a clearance from the copyright owner and persons
appearing in the photo.
� Consider stock footage (many providers)
MUSIC
� Original music, scored for the film, is the safest.
� Prerecorded/published music need
• Publisher clearances
• Synchronization rights
• Performance rights
• Record company clearances
• To get a Master Use license
• Permission from the performers or third parties
LIKENESSES
� Personality rights
• Right of publicity• Right of privacy
� General rule: you need written permission to use a person’s likeness in
your film
� Public crowd scenes an exception
• Don’t focus on specific people• Don’t leave the camera on someone for more than a second or two
• Hold up a sign disclosing that a film is being made
CHARACTER NAMES, ADDRESSES, …
� Where the work is fictional, the names of the characters should be
fictional.
� Don’t use real phone numbers or addresses in fictional works.
� Prop houses have phony license plates, etc. for rent.
LOCATIONS
� General rule: you can film anything viewable by the general public
as long as you do not disparage or defame.
� Written location releases needed for private areas (e.g. in buildings,
on private land, etc.)
� Filming permits
• City (e.g. LA) gives permission to film in that city
• State of California if using gov’t employees
LEGAL ENTITY PROTECTIONS
� Individual (sole proprietor)
� Partnership
• General
• Limited Liability
� Limited Liability Company (LLC)
� Corporation
• C corp.
• S corp.