Confusion About Permission...License.

Polanski

Polanski

Well-known member
I don't know if this is the right place to post this.

Maybe there will be a lot of people around here that could be asking themselves these questions too.

When shooting a movie, what can be permission and what enters into the license issue? And most of all what could be used without asking permission or obtaining a license.

Here's a tiny list of things:

Products, like cigarettes, beers, fast food or the like. Can they be shown without permission or do we have to get permission from every manufacturer whose products appear in the movie?

Business locales like Wendy, Buger King, McDonald, Gas stations, stores etc
Permission? License? None?

If taking a shot on a freeway. Are all those vehicles of the movie production or are they only general people driving? What about this? The same for a street in a city and people passing by...

I don't know, but is there any legal book that includes lists of things that can be used without asking for permission?

Isn't it kind of wierd that I have an actor smoking Marlboro and I have to write to Phillis Morris to get a permission to use thier Marlboro box in my movie when in the end what I am doing is promoting thier product for free?

I would really like to find a site, a book or whatever thing dealing with this of permission and license.

Thanks
 
I would be interested to know about permissions for vehicles. Such as using a Chevy truck or a Porsche in an independent feature?
 
Depends about what you are going to do with it. If your production is non-profit and doesn't go to festivals nobody will care.

I'll let somebody more educated on the matter chime in about the specifics on festival or for-profit projects.
 
If you are really that worried about permissions, licenses and clearances then you should really hire someone to handle all that for you. There are companies that specialize in this sort of thing.

Realistically speaking, I think as long as you don't show a company logo or product in a negative light they will be very reluctant to say anything about it. It's free advertising for them, and if they do sue you, then it's free advertising for you.

As far as permission from people on public roads and the like, if you are shooting without a permit (aka shooting guerilla style) than I wouldn't be concerned about getting permission. If you are really worried about it, you can always posts signs that you are shooting a movie in the area. PM me if you need a template to use.
 
Id echo what Mr. Blue said. It can get to be a very grey area, and the only way to know for sure about all of the things you asked about is to get an expert to assist you. As far as people/cars on the street/sidewalk - its not a major issue if youre not seeing much of them (i.e. an uber wide shot), but if you can make out license plates and faces, thats when you have to start being worried. Also, if youre shooting on a road using a car mount or something of the sort, I would definitely look into clearing it at least with the police (although it can be done without - but you run the risk of getting a ticket and some hassle).

To Hostarius: As far as I know (having just shot a short that heavily featured a car), automobile makes are copyrighted, models are not. Therefore, brand logos like a Porsche crest or Chevy bowtie should probably be avoided, but I dont think you need to worry about anywhere it says the actual name of the car. At least thats what I was told and what I moved on when shooting my film (Im by no means an expert) - we just blacked out the manufacturer logo on our vehicle and rolled like that.
 
That seems to be the best bet. Kevin Smith used all kinds of brand names in Clerks, and no one said a word. Of course, he maxed out 12 credit cards and got away with it. :p Tarantino uses faux or public domain brand names to avoid any trouble or money issues. Plus, Big Kahuna Burger sounds way cooler than Burger King.
 
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