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FIND ANSWERS WITH ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY LISA CALLIF

Lisa Callif, named byVarietyas one of The Best and The Brightest (2011), is an entertainmentattorneyatDonaldson+Callifwhoseprimaryfocusisonrepresentingindependentfilmmakersinall aspects ofmoviemaking, including development, production and distribution. Aspart of herpractice, Lisa doesa significant amountof clearanceworkfor documentaries,havingworkedonacclaimeddocssuchasTheInvisibleWar,InsideJob,HowtoDieInOregon,WaitingforSuperman,TheMost DangerousMan in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Bigger, Stronger,

FasterTheSideEffectsofBeingAmericanandThisFilmIsNotYetRated.Ima writer/director.What arethe bestways that I canprotectmyprojectbefore I start

pitchingtoproductioncompanies?

Itmightsoundcounter-intuitive,butthebestwaytoprotectyourprojectistodevelopitasmuchasyoucanbeforepitchingit.Dontpitchanidea.Ideasarentcopyrightableandaswehaveprobablyallexperienced,ifyouhaveagreatidea,thereareprobablyoneorthreeor20otherpeoplewiththatsameidea.Whatisprotectableandprobablyuniquetoyouistheexpressionofthatidea.Ifyouare only ata treatment stage, make sure your treatment is fullydeveloped;give the charactersbackgrounds and identities, develop locations and make sure the story is complete with abeginning, middle and an end. If youre pitching a series, have a per-episode breakdown, withcharacter arcs, detailed storylines andother creativeexpressions that areprotectable.Itsmuchharderforsomeonetostealyourworkifitisfullydeveloped.Andwhywouldthey?Youvealreadydonealotofthework.Itsmuchcheaperforthemtohireyou,oratleastbuyyourproject,ratherthanriskalawsuit.Of course,youshouldregister treatments,outlinesand scriptswiththeWritersGuildofAmericaandregistercompletedscriptswiththeUSCopyrightOffice.I

highly recommend you do so; however, those registrations only protect you in the event of adispute.Tohelpensureyoudontgettothedisputephaseofthings,doalotofgoodworkbeforeyou pitch. Oh, andmake sure you trustthe folksyou are sending yourmaterials to. Keep goodrecordsofwhoyousendittoandeverybodyinanymeetingyouhaveaboutyourproject.Whenshootingrecognizableplacesorproducts,whatkindsofwrittenpermissionshouldI

acquirebeforehand?

Thisisanissueoftrademarklaw.Briefly,trademarklawsweredevelopedtoprotectconsumersfrombeingconfusedaboutthesourceoforigin(wheretheproductorservicecomesfrom).LetslookatanexampleCoke.WeallknowwhatCokeis.Weknowwhatittasteslike.Wecanpicturetheredandwhitecaninourheads.Wemayevenknowtheingredients(ifyoureanobsessivelabel

reader,likeIam).TMlawmakesitillegalforanothercompanytocomealong,createthatsamelookandputtheirownbeverageinthatcan.Thatwouldconfusetheconsumer.TheconsumerwouldbuytheCokelook-a-like,thinkitwasaCokeandgetlemonade.Notcool.So,usingthatinformationasourfoundationforthisquestion,shootingabuildingfrontoranameofastoreorabrandorlogo,isokay,solongasthefollowingcriteriaaremet:(i)theplaceorproductshotisportrayedinthemanneritiscommonlyportrayed;and(ii)theaudienceisnotledtobelievethat the brand or store is sponsoring or associated with your film. If you are shooting in asupermarketandyoureinthecannedfoodaisleandyoushootGreenGiantveggiesandCampbellsSoup thats okay.Nopermission required. Ifyou are shootingRodeo Driveand you catchthe

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storefronts of Gucci, Prada, Hugo Boss and Bottega Veneta thats also okay. No permissionrequired.

WhatsnotokayisifyoushootinthecannedfoodaisleandyouractorpicksupacanofGreenGiantgreenbeansandthereisbloodoozingoutofthecan.Youdontwanttoharmortarnishthemarkinanyway. Thatiswhereyouwould get into trouble.Itsalsonotokayto tricktheviewer intothinkingPradaisassociatedwithyourfilmbyusingthestorefrontasthesoleimageonthecoverofyourDVD.Keepinmindthatmanyproducersdonotwanttoputbrandsintheirfilmsbecausetheywanttogetaproductplacementfeefordoingso.Thisisnotalegalreason,itsabusinessone.Bigstudiosalsohavepoliciesabouttheuseofproductsinproductions,butthesearebusiness/policyreasonsandnotnecessarilylegal.Additionally,brandscanbesensitiveandmaynotbehappywithbeingusedinafilmiftheydontlikethemessageorhowtheyarebeingportrayed.However,ifyoukeepwithintheconfinesoftheabove,thebrandownermightbeupset,butwonthaveavalidclaim.

Ihaveavalidlocationreleasetoshootinasubjectshome.DoIstillneedtoworryabout

gettingreleasestophotographcopyrightedmaterialsintheirhome?

This is a great question. The current state of the law is that you do need to get releases tophotograph the artwork and other copyrightedmaterials in the home.When the ownerof theartworkpurchasedthepiece,hepurchasedtherighttodisplaytheartworkinhishome,butnottomakecopiesofit.Avideorecordingoftheartworkisacopy,sobeforeshooting,makesurethatallartworkonthewallsis clearableor replace itwithsomething that is. Asfor book covers andmagazines,youcanshootthosewithoutgettingpermission,solongastheyarenotthefocusofasceneandmerelyusedassetdressing.

ImcreatingaKickstartercampaignformyproject.DoIhaveto licensethemusicIplantouseforthecampaignvideo?

Manypeoplethinktheydonthavetoclearmusicinacampaignvideoorteaserbecausethefilmisntbeingsoldorcommerciallydistributed.Thatsnotthecase.Theactofcopyrightinfringementismakingthecopy.Itsnotthesellingoforprofitingoffofthecopy.Onceyoumakethecopyofthesongtoput inyourvideo,withoutpermission,theactof copyrightinfringementhasoccurred.Sotheanswertothequestionis,yes,youneedtolicensethemusic.Thatbeingsaid,theriskofbeingsuedisrelativelylowandifacopyrightownergetswindofthefactthatyoureusingthemusicwithoutpermission,youcanalwaystakeitdown.However,keepinmindthatacopyrightholdercantakeactionagainstyouevenifyouhaventmadeanymoney.Copyrightlawhaswhatiscalledstatutorydamagessothecopyrightownerdoesnthave toproveactualdamages.Thecourtcanaward damages between $750 and $150,000 depending on the level of egregiousness of theinfringement.