documentary info

S

seantree

Well-known member
I am looking to shoot a doc on the lifestyles of mmorpg players or "addicts" as many call them. I have a concern with showing the games that they play in the doc. Do I need approval from the developers of the games before setting out to do this? Thanks in advance for the help. I'd like to avoid lawsuits if possible :) oh yeah, anyone on here have any mmorpg stories? lol, like i sold my dvx to fund my addiction?
 
Don't have any answers for you, I would guess the developers could get upset if their products are singled out and portrayed in a negative way, but I'n no lawyer. The project itself sound like a good one though....Good luck with it!
 
A friend of mine in Austin was going to do a documentary about gamers and their addiction, 2-3 years ago. He shot some stuff but it ended up looking horrible so he gave up on the project. I don't think he was concerned about infringing on copyrighted material. And his father is a lawyer, so he would have checked. Also, I think documentaries are allowed more leeway than a normal film. Did McDonald's give permission to "Super-size Me"? Did "Bowling for Columbine" get permission from the NRA? Does anyone know?

It's good idea for a documentary. Don't give up on it! I'm sure it can be done.
 
PK, thanks for the info. I was thinking the same thing but didnt want to put the time into the project only to have it go to waste due to some legal issues. thanks again and i'll keep you guys posted.
 
Ask a lawyer for your project specifically. If it is not negative, you may even get the developers to pay "product placement" fees.
 
Genuine documentaries should fall under "fair use", First Amendment, and all sorts of other protections afforded journalists.

As long as you don't lie or otherwise make stuff up. ;-)

Dan
 
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