Legal issues

T

tampawolf

Well-known member
How can i find out, what can be recorded, where, how, etc? I want to make a documentary about something, but not sure what issues I could come across with filming and soudn recording and stuff.
 
That's a little vague don't you think? Legality is all in the details and the context of what's going on. For example, if you want to make a doc about Disney and want to shoot at their theme parks be prepared for a lot of legal issues unless you have Disney's blessing.

The basic issues are you have to own the rights, or license the rights, of everything that goes in your film (assuming you want to distribute it of course). Some people will license the rights at no cost, others will want a moderate fee, others an exorbitant fee, and still others will threaten to sue you in and everyone related to you if you even think about using their IP. Some material could fall under Fair Use, but that is very context sensitive so you consult a copyright attorney for legal advice. Of course even if you think something falls under Fair Use that doesn't prevent someone form suing you over it and forcing you to pay legal costs to defend yourself.
 
I haven't seen The Cove so I can't speculate on the scene you are talking about.

Many times what you can/can't use comes down to the context of how it's being used in the film. An attorney specializing in copyright law would be your best bet for getting answers.
 
Also bear in mind that these rules vary from place to place. You'll need to be much more specific about what & where you want to film if you want any meaningful advice.
 
I have wondered about this too. For example, let's say you steal a shot somewhere you're not supposed to -- allowed to -- shoot. I don't mean a place like with copyrighted or trademarked IP you can't show, I mean a place people told you not to shoot, say inside a building related to some topic you're investigating for the film but had been told to stay out of. This happens in plenty of docs, but if the footage ends up in the final film, can you get sued for that? Or retroactively charged with trespassing or something? It's an interesting question. Of course the answer will vary from place to place, so: be specific, and ask a lawyer!
 
This is America, a land where anybody has the right to sue anyone for any reason whatsoever (including no damn good reason at all!).

But you really need to ask your lawyer that last question.
 
Don't take my advice, but I think you have more leeway than you think with a documentary. I mean look at Michael Moore, he takes his camera with him into all kinds of places and confronts people. I also think documentaries would be allowed significant amounts of 'fair use' in order to tell a story.

I Googled 'documentary fair use' and came up with this link, I know nothing of the link other than I read the info and it was informative for me:

http://www.gcglaw.com/resources/entertainment/fair_use.html
 
Buck Forester said:
I also think documentaries would be allowed significant amounts of 'fair use' in order to tell a story.
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Unfortunately that doesn't seem like the case.

There's an article by Stay Free! about some of legal hurdles the doc Mad Hot Ballroom faced that has always stuck with me.
Stay Free!: Were there any scenes you had to cut out of the film because of copyright?

Sewell: When we were down shooting the boys playing foosball, Ronnie yelled out, "Everybody dance now!" Just when I think we've finished the film, someone points out that we have to clear that because it's a "visual vocal cue." So I went back to the publishers, and the first publisher, Spirit, says they'll throw it in with the other things we've cleared if Warner Chappell throws it in. But Warner Chappell said, "Look, we've cut you some nice deals, we can't give this to you." They said this three-second bit would cost $5,000. And since they had Most Favored Nation status it would have raised the cost on similar uses, like the Rocky ring-tone. So I went back to lawyer and said we should keep it in because this should be a poster child for fair use. But he didn't recommend taking on the music industry. Those corporations have too much money for us to play Norma Rae our first time out.
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I recently had a doc I cut get distribution (***shameless plug*** LookingForLenny.com ***shameless plug***) and in order to get distribution we had to get E&O insurance and in order to get that we had have an IP lawyer look at the film and hand over our clearances to be evaluated. Somethings were a gray area that we went back and fourth on and some concessions were made, but eventually the lawyer signed off on the film. Of course during this whole process it's not lost on me that a major part of the film is about Free Speech in the US and I'm literally having to get every frame of video and every peep of audio tagged as 'okay to use' so we can get distribution and so we don't get sued. The hardest part is having to make editorial decisions you don't want to make because someone won't license you a certain bit of footage or the right to use a certain audio recording. That was hard, and still is hard when I watch the final cut, to know that an awesome scene had to be removed because we couldn't get the rights to a recording that was pivotal to making the scene work.

We started getting cease and desist orders from almost the first day of filming so we had no delusions of "Oh, maybe no one will notice if we use it."

So there's kind of more than one level of Fair Use. There's the Fair Use by the letter of the law and then the 'real world' Fair Use that most likely won't get you sued by a company that generates more money in a hour than you'll make in your whole life.
 
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"Hey, I think I might have a brain tumor. I've got a lot of the symptoms. What do you guys think? Do you think I have one? Is there any over-the-counter stuff I can take for it?"

[end sarcasm]

Seriously, legal questions should be put to a qualified legal person, IMHO. Asking anyone else is risky at best.
 
David W. Richardson said:
"Hey, I think I might have a brain tumor. I've got a lot of the symptoms. What do you guys think? Do you think I have one? Is there any over-the-counter stuff I can take for it?"

[end sarcasm]

Seriously, legal questions should be put to a qualified legal person, IMHO. Asking anyone else is risky at best.
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In full respect, asking a layman about a suspected brain tumor when anyone can see it's a pimple shouldn't require "professional assistance". Sure every medium budget production "should" have its own legal team but in reality, having a stand-by attorney who's personal interests are (bottom-line) to make himself more money by pondering the legality of your pay-by-the-hour questions isn't always the best option.

Research the facts yourself, if it's cut and clear, make the decision - and if not, seek assistance.
 
gundar said:
Research the facts yourself, if it's cut and clear, make the decision - and if not, seek assistance.
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Vary rarely is anything clear cut in this industry though. Sure, one can spend a few days researching a topic and coming up with what they hope is the right conclusion or one can pay for an hour or two of a professionals time and get the right answer. Heck, depending on what the doc is on they might even be able to find someone sympathetic to the cause that is willing to do pro bono work.

At some point you'll need a lawyer to make sure all i's are dotted and t's are crossed so you might as well have one help point you in the right direction from the get go rather than consult one at the end and find out you you've wasted time and made mistakes (some of them possibly irreversible).
 
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