is it legal???

G

googalizer

Member
Ok I"m not so sure if this is the correct area to be posting this... anywho I was wondering about what's legal and what's not. Now I know that it's not legal to use pop music or music that I don't have the rights to but I was wondering more about the images in my videos and lines in my scripts. I'll list some examples.

Is it Legal?

1. To name drop in my movies. example. "Did you break your nose? You look like Owen wilson." etc

2. using products in the movie. coke cans, mcdonalds bags in background, or going to Crispy Cream in the video, mentioning a product or business in dialog. "I love walmart." "everytime I go to Tires Plus they rip me off." "That chick at the Ben and Jerry's Stand is HOT!" things like that.

3. quoting other movies, "Luke I am your Father" "I can only show you the door. You have to walk through it" etc. Or a character's name in a movie as a line of dialog, "Hold up there Rambo, you can't go it alone." etc.

4. A character in the movie sings a popular song but it's not playing. Like they can get it out of their head or something.

I hear and see a lot of examples of these in most movies but then again most movies pay for the rights for music so maybe they paid for the rights to these other examples too.

I might be a stupid question but I really don't know so could someone please clear this up.
 
googalizer said:
2. using products in the movie. coke cans, mcdonalds bags in background, or going to Crispy Cream in the video
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No. You need clearance on these. Any registered trademarks, recognizable names, Metallica t-shirts, artwork hanging on the wall (did the artist give you permission to put it in your film?), music in the background, music on soundtrack, logos, etc. etc.
 
my $.02
googalizer said:
Ok I"m not so sure if this is the correct area to be posting this... anywho I was wondering about what's legal and what's not. Now I know that it's not legal to use pop music or music that I don't have the rights to but I was wondering more about the images in my videos and lines in my scripts. I'll list some examples.

Is it Legal?

1. To name drop in my movies. example. "Did you break your nose? You look like Owen wilson." etc

This is I believe fine. Though if you say a lot of nasty things about anybody they might sue you anyway. They have deeper pockets, so if you really pick on someone I would probably have someone look it over who is more knowledgeable.

2. using products in the movie. coke cans, mcdonalds bags in background, or going to Crispy Cream in the video, mentioning a product or business in dialog. "I love walmart." "everytime I go to Tires Plus they rip me off." "That chick at the Ben and Jerry's Stand is HOT!" things like that.

No as someone already posted. You need clearances. The upside is that you might be able to get product placement deals where they pay you to use the product. Even small films, especially with local vendors, can get product placement deals.

You could get in real dodo with "slanderous" lines about real products.

3. quoting other movies, "Luke I am your Father" "I can only show you the door. You have to walk through it" etc. Or a character's name in a movie as a line of dialog, "Hold up there Rambo, you can't go it alone." etc.

Don't know for sure but things that popular culture phrases I think are fine. And if your doing a parody of the line you should be fine. Names I believe are not copyrightable, so you would be ok as long as there was no implication of a connection to the original film. For instance your Rambo line would be OK is the line is commenting on the way the other character is acting, and would not be OK if the other character was named Rambo and there was any implication of a connection to the Rambo everyone knows.http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/editor/color.gif

4. A character in the movie sings a popular song but it's not playing. Like they can get it out of their head or something.

You need the rights but you only need the rights to the music not the recording. Easier and cheaper.



I hear and see a lot of examples of these in most movies but then again most movies pay for the rights for music so maybe they paid for the rights to these other examples too.

I might be a stupid question but I really don't know so could someone please clear this up.
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I agree with Noiz2: Yes, No, Yes, No - gad it reminds me of marching in the Army again (or was it Left, Right, Left, Right...) BTW, I also agree that #2 could get you in serious hot water - you don't even want the Golden Arches logos visible in the background without permission, let alone use it for a prop.

Regards, Michael
 
BTW - While taking my shower (always my most creative moment), I recalled an example of a common day song that many aren't aware is copyrighted. Would you believe the "Happy Birthday" song we all know and love gets the copyright owner about $2,000,000 annually? Here's the interesting background story of the Mildred and Patty Hills sisters.
Regards, Michael
 
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Don't take this at face value but I believe anyone can use up to thirty seconds of a song copyright free. If I remeber correctly they taught us that in school when talking about what can get you in trouble legally. I tried finding this again on government/copyright websites but I didn't come up with anything.
 
It is a common misconception, but as far as I know, that is not true. You cannot use any part of a song without permission from the appropriate people. BMI, ASCAP generally.

Jason
 
Correct, Ramjet. Not even a few seconds. Frankly, not even a couple of notes if they can prove that it came from someone else's work. Just ask George Harrison, who got sued and lost over about 3 notes.
 
All this sounds true. However, I can always think of an exception where nothing happened.

#1- "Supersize Me" - Morgan Spurlock's movie was entirely about McDonald's and giving McDonald's a bad name. Nothing bad happened to him. He had McDonald's logos all over, and he did all he could to give their product a bad name and make money doing it.

#2- "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" - They have an entire episode about Myspace, where Frank makes a Myspace, etc. etc.

#3- "Ice, Ice Baby" - Copied shamelessly the tune from Queen's "Under Pressure" with no legal problems.

So all the things you guys were saying sound right, but how come all the previous people get away with it?
 
ernesto said:
So all the things you guys were saying sound right, but how come all the previous people get away with it?
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The lobbyists (usually lawyers) influence the legislators (oftentimes former lawyers) who make the laws that we must abide by. The resulting laws are overly complicated and extremely difficult to understand. This results in questions like: "Is it Legal?". Unfortunately the only way to get a clear answer to that question is to pay a lawyer.
Coincidence?
 
baquajim said:
No. You need clearance on these. Any registered trademarks, recognizable names, Metallica t-shirts, artwork hanging on the wall (did the artist give you permission to put it in your film?), music in the background, music on soundtrack, logos, etc. etc.
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You're talking about two different things, copyright and trade mark.

Trade mark law is a lot less complicated. Unless the audience will get confused (thinking your film is a can of Coke, for instance), there isn't usually a legal problem.

On the other hand, a Pepsi-sponsored film festival may not show a film where everyone is drinking Coke.
 
I am not a lawyer so you should always consult one before taking advice but I can shed light (almost for certain) on some of this - there is a lot of misconceptions in this area:

1. To name drop in my movies. example. "Did you break your nose? You look like Owen wilson." etc

You can say ANYTHING you want - this is covered under free speech. You however need to be careful not to slander (unless it is a satire -looser rules there but the definition of satire is very specific)

2. using products in the movie. coke cans, mcdonalds bags in background, or going to Crispy Cream in the video, mentioning a product or business in dialog. "I love walmart." "everytime I go to Tires Plus they rip me off." "That chick at the Ben and Jerry's Stand is HOT!" things like that.

You can show ANY product at all in any movie WITHOUT clearance - this is an area with common misconceptions. There is no problem showing any product at all as long as it is use as intended and shown in a positive light. DO NOT show a beer brand if the bottle is broken over someones head - but you can show it if it is drunk. You can mention anything you want verbally. This category I am sure about - you can show any brand

3. quoting other movies, "Luke I am your Father" "I can only show you the door. You have to walk through it" etc. Or a character's name in a movie as a line of dialog, "Hold up there Rambo, you can't go it alone." etc.

This one I am not sure about - My gut is that it is ok because these lines are not trademarked

4. A character in the movie sings a popular song but it's not playing. Like they can get it out of their head or something.

This is absolutely not allowed without clearance for a song - you cannot sing, hum or anything else a recognizable song - you cannot have one playing in the background period - without clearance. Not for thirty seconds - not for 5 seconds - once its recognizable you need clearance

One other area to look out for is artwork - be very careful here - this is the most strick area - you cannot show any portion of any artwork without clearance. Take those paintings down before you get the shot of the living room - take the sculptures off the shelves. Artwork is very protected - even if you bought the painting at kmart. Of course its a risk managment thing - if you think noone will notice the tiny painting mostly out of focus you can take the chance - but the strict word of the law is that you need clearance.
 
I don't know if you watch Heroes, but earlier this season, there was a scene in which an indestructible cheerleader sticks her hand in a sink garbage disposal (in this case, an In-Sink-Erator) and mangles it.

The company that makes the In-Sink-Erator is suing NBC for, well, representing their product as a hand-mangling device.

Showing a product: no problem.

Showing a product chewing up somebody's hand: hide the label. Also, gross.
 
ernesto said:
All this sounds true. However, I can always think of an exception where nothing happened.


#3- "Ice, Ice Baby" - Copied shamelessly the tune from Queen's "Under Pressure" with no legal problems.
Click to expand...

If I recall, there was a huge legal battle over that song. granted, vanilla ice won, BUT, he had high powered lawyers behind him.
 
Copyright laws are EXTREMELY strict and much (most?) of what's on YouTube, etc. would be infringing on a strict interpretation of it, for instance.
The only thing preventing hefty fines being levied is the inability or difficulty of the copyright holder to enforce the laws.
Is it legal you ask? No, probably not. Will you be fined? No, probably not. Will you be able to sell your production to a broadcaster? No, probably not, unless you get permission at that time, and pay the price.

The one thing we have going for us is what's called FAIR USE, but even that will not really be worth much to someone who is making a narrative piece, as it would be difficult to claim fair use in such a production.
The BEST method to avoid any problems down the road is to simply NOT do or use anything that is mentioned in the first post.

The area where there's a little more wiggle room is with documentary films.

Here's two VERY good & informative PDF files that explain FIAR USE for documentary film productions.

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/files/pdf/fair_use_final.pdf

http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/pdf/cspdcomichigh.pdf
 
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