An alarmingly high percentage of reader questions contain some variety of the phrase, “Do I need permission to…”
The short answer is generally, “Yes.” The long answer continues, “…but don’t worry about it so much.” People get unnecessarily freaked out about copyright and trademarks, out of fear that Nabisco is going to sue them for millions of dollars. That’s simply not going to happen.
But to help you sleep a little easier, I’d highly recommend a new book from [Nolo](http://www.nolo.com) called [Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off](http://www.nolo.com/lawstore/products/product.cfm/ObjectID/4835B5AF-0C35-4540-A4FE20738596443E/catid/2EB060FE-5A4B-4D81-883B0E540CC4CB1E). That’s a lot of ampersands for one title, but it’s a very good reference for the super-diligent writer who wants to make sure his Bob Dylan musical is on the up-and-up. (Section 5, page 21)
The book has all the forms you’re likely to need for most purposes, although it’s not film-centric. There are no rights-option agreements, for example.
Nolo has books on a wide variety of legal topics, which is of course catnip to the do-it-yourself-er like me. [How to Buy a House in California](http://www.nolo.com/lawstore/products/product.cfm/ObjectID/2B3C9AA5-19FF-45F8-B0E47338DEECD3F3/catid/AAFB97A1-F23E-4D6F-98DBD8C64C478126) was by far the most useful thing I read before I bought my first place a few years ago — I’ve lent it out to many friends. Even if you live outside of California, it’s a very good primer. In my case, I had dramatically mis-estimated what I could afford to buy, and would have ended up in the wrong house without it.