Right of Publicity

Disputes and Decisions

Resources   Copyright cases One-Page Guide to Copyright Law – CopyrightData.com An extensive discussion of why a work might still be in copyright or not with cases and exceptions. Citations and Case Summaries – CopyrightData.com This page hasn’t been updated for a while, but contains a really extensive list of copyright cases.   Public domain […]

Disputes and Decisions Read More »

Ask Permission not Forgiveness

Protecting Yourself When it comes time for post-production, you will need to be able to send a huge list of deliverables to your distributor. The deliverables associated with intellectual property rights will be just one part of that list. (A couple of good articles by filmmakers documenting their trials with deliverables and tips for getting

Ask Permission not Forgiveness Read More »

Security and Prevention

Protecting Yourself Making an independent film is exciting. You’re creating something wonderful to share with the world, and working with other brilliant people to make your dream a reality. But it’s also full of potential legal headaches. (And possibly also personal relationship headaches.) Here are some tips for security and problem prevention for your film.

Security and Prevention Read More »

Public Domain

Budget but Beware Public domain works are not covered by copyright. They are owned by the public, and are available to be used and remixed into new works. However, you need to be careful about making completely sure that the material is in the public domain before using it. Also be cautious about works with

Public Domain Read More »

Right of Publicity

Film IP Issues Technically, right of publicity laws apply to everyone, with regards what happens with their likeness. Most of the major cases apply to celebrities, but sometimes a regular person believes that their rights have been transgressed or that they have been insulted or defamed. A frequently cited example is when teenager Alison Chang

Right of Publicity Read More »

Copyright

Film IP Issues Each of us is a copyright owner. And each of us uses content or media that was created by another copyright owner. Technically, just by fixing an original work in a tangible form, such as a photograph, drawing, or piece of music, we have copyright. You can’t copyright a fact or an

Copyright Read More »

Intellectual Property

Film IP Issues “I just want to make a little independent film. Why do I need to know about intellectual property rights? Who cares about copyright, trademark, and right of publicity? I’m to small for anyone to notice me.” Sorry, friend. That’s really not going to be true. Once you put your creation out into

Intellectual Property Read More »