Archive for the 'Rights and Copyright' Category
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Referring to famous people
Yes, you can have characters talk about people like Michael Bay without getting permission.
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Authors’ Guild vs. Kindle
Cory Doctorow makes many of the points I would about the Authors’ Guild’s grumpiness over the Kindle’s text-to-speech function.
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When writing teams break up
Don’t just think about who “owns” what. There are more practical considerations.
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Shouldn’t I get credit for the outline?
Explorations of ownership in a corporate environment.
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Question sprint
Killing backstories, writing out lyrics and why you will always want to be writing something else (amongst other topics), explored.
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Selling novel rights
Steps a publisher can take to offer up properties to moviemakers.
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Permitted filmmaking
If it’s you and a buddy with a tiny camera, should you really have to register with a governmental agency? I say no.
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Her least favorite mistake
An episode of Grey’s Anatomy might have the same title as your spec. That’s not even close to being plagiarism.
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Finding out if a book has been optioned
Easy steps to tracking down rights.
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Help! I’m getting screwed on my own series
If this sounds like you, stop reading and start dialing. You need a better attorney, stat.
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Using overheard dialogue
Let’s say you’re at work and you overhear some great dialogue. Should you worry about co-workers suing when they hear it in your movie?
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Using your friend’s name in a script
Do you need signed legal permission to use a friend’s name in a script?
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Because really, he should drive a Chrysler LeBaron
Clearing (and not worrying about) brands, artwork and monikers for your movie.
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Copyright: The Comic Book
Link to a great legal resource for filmmakers concerned with portraying reality.
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Writing about real events
How to deal when your situations and characters are based on real incidents and people.
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Using the story of a friend’s life
Legal and moral issues arise when taking someone else’s story, even just pieces of it.
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Getting permission
Link to a great book to ease your fears of getting permissions to copyrighted material.
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Optioning a screenplay
Options; defined and explained.
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Using a song in a short without permission
Using unlicensed material can be okay at the festival level. The trouble comes when you make money off of it.
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Average price for a short story option
What is the average option price short stories are optioned for? Just to get an estimate of what I should be offering/accepting. Where else can I do research about these confidential matters?
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Setting up a project without having the underlying book rights
If there’s a book you can’t afford to option yourself, it’s worth trying to get someone to option it for you.
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Using the music of an unknown band
Having the rights shouldn’t necessarily be your first concern.
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Slandering historical figures
Dead people are fair game, for the most part.
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Dead copyright holders, and being too young
How to track down rights after someone passes on.
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Getting rights when the story is based on actual events
Navigating the differences between public domain and intellectual property.
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Do you need permission to use a quotation?
Let lawyers handle the law. You have plenty to worry about as a mere screenwriter.
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Finding a writer
Got an idea but no writing chops? Here’s some options for getting a writer on board.
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Getting rights to a concept album
Copyright almost certainly rests with the songwriters, so start there.
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Copyright and changes
How much needs to change to make re-registering your script worthwhile?
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Spoofs in your script
There’s a long tradition of movies parodying each other, and it would be hard to prove any actual damage or wrongdoing.
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Bob marley
Thoughts on writing a biopic.
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Optioning your book
How much is my book worth? Should I option or sell?
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Based on a true story
How is that label earned? What are the legal parameters?
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Copyrighted materials in your script
Worry about writing the best scenes and not about lawsuits or song rights.
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Optioning a book
If you can, option. If not, don’t be afraid to show your script for fear of losing the rights to the source material.
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Getting rights to a concept album
Copyright almost certainly rests with the songwriters, so start there.
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“Fictional events” disclaimer
In GO, the threeway, the strippers and the burning hotel room all happened – at different times, to different people – but in stringing them together, I created a fictious work that is not really “based on actual events.”
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Finding the rights
Sometimes an attorney should be your first stop on the search for rights.
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Stealing sequels
If you feel like writing a remake be prepared to approach the original studio first. Know that, If they don’t want to make it, and no one else is willing to buy the rights from them, you’re screwed.
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Registering ideas
Only written, detailed ideas can be registered and protected.
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Rewriting an old movie
Every studio has somebody who handles exactly these kind of rights.
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Are jokes public domain?
At a certain point, some jokes circulate out in the popular culture enough that I would argue they’re essentially public domain.
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Using copyrighted material in a short
The consequences for trampling someone else’s copyright are not that dire. Since you’re a student, and probably broke, it’s not like 20th Century Fox is going to sue you for your life’s savings.
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A character sings a song
Hope you have to worry about these problems when the movie gets made. Until then, don’t.
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Worried about copyrights
This is America. If you want your characters to say that TOWN AND COUNTRY was a boring, unfunny disaster, they can.
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More copyrights and changes
How important is it to register your screenplay?
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