Clearances for Public Authorities

[_Rok_]

My script involves several corrupt police officers from a known police dept.

Technically, I know I should to get clearance from this department to include a portrayal of these fictitious characters. But, since the most I can hope for is this film to go to festival, is such a release needed? Has anyone ever gotten this kind of clearance?

_Rok_

 

[Blade_Jones]

portrayal of these fictitious characters

If you're not using real names then no worries.

Usually police have trademarks on their logos. Just don't use those. You'd be hard pressed to FIND real police badges and patches anyway. It's illegal to possess them.

In my movie I used some generic looking LAPD patches that I ordered off the Internet. They looked just fine on camera. We rented badges from a prop house. The police car was from a movie car rental place too.

 

[JohnNetzlof]

Usually police have trademarks on their logos. Just don't use those. You'd be hard pressed to FIND real police badges and patches anyway. It's illegal to possess them.

Not exactly... Have a stroll through eBay, you can find genuine patches and badges for pretty much any department you can think of.

Also, it is not illegal to posses badges or patches or a shirt that says Police. They become illegal when you attempt to use these items to portray that you have police power, which can be defined differently. I wouldn't drive a car that says "Police" anywhere on it done the road, or wear a full uniform in public (with out proper filming permits/permissions, of course) but you can in fact purchase police patches with out fearing the government kicking in your front door and arresting you. Patch collecting is a very popular hobby, in fact!


**However, yes, as with any other logo, the copyright is owned by the department, so I wouldn't directly use the logo, anyway.

***This is for the US only, I don't know anything about foreign laws, and I am NOT a lawyer either.

 

[Blade_Jones]

Have a stroll through eBay, you can find genuine patches and badges for pretty much any department you can think of.

It might have been just a California thing or an LA County thing. In other states it might be legal. Ask your local PD. In Los Angeles it's illegal to possess badges that even LOOK too much like the real thing (let alone ARE the real deal) unless you are a movie rental place that has a special license, or you are renting from them. I think the same goes for patches. The LAPD logo on cars is trademarked I believe. I remember contacting the police department directly to discuss this. He told me that I might be able to find stuff for sale, but just because it's on the Internet for sale doesn't mean that it's legal. There are people in Europe (and maybe in other states) who possess real LAPD badges and are selling them, but get caught possessing one in Los Angeles and you're in trouble.

 

[MichaelPaul]

Using eBay as our source we were able to purchase authentic patches and badges for a county sheriff's department. It is not a well known department so it is much different than having LAPD or NYPD written on something. We modified a car as well but when we transported it to our location, we covered the graphics with paper and tape.

 

[GuerrillaAngel]

Using eBay as our source we were able to purchase authentic patches and badges for a county sheriff's department.

What a great idea!