For Independent Filmmakers
Welcome
Our Independent Filmmaker pages are loosely organized in the chronological order of legal and business matters you might face throughout your project -- from treatment to final cut. Please help us improve our site. If you notice an error or have a suggestion for a link or additional information, please contact us.
THIS WEB SITE HAS BEEN PREPARED FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE OR A LEGAL OPINION. ONLY YOUR ATTORNEY CAN ADVISE YOU ABOUT WHICH LAWS ARE APPLICABLE TO YOUR SPECIFIC SITUATION.
Filmmakers often are inspired to make a film after reading a book or short story, seeing a play or being exposed to some other type of source material or underlying work. They also are users of other creative works, especially music. Usually, permission is required to use the creative works of others, but copyright law strikes a “cultural bargain” between creators and the public interest by limiting the scope of the copyright holder’s monopoly through the fair use doctrine and the copyright’s eventual expiration. So, in some circumstances, permission is not required.
As Nolo Press author Stephen Fishman notes, you should ask two questions to determine if permission is needed. 1) Is the material protected under law? 2) Would your use of the material violate the law? Of course, there is no simple answer to these questions. What follows are brief summaries of the public domain and fair use, including parody. We then outline the basic steps involved in getting permission to use a protected work and describe the standard permission tools (licenses and releases). Finally, we provide a sample permission letter and form.
Music clearance is covered in depth elsewhere on this site.
