Use of Copyright Material

M

mixedcolors10

I have a short film idea and in the film I want to add a clip from a specific tv series, probably less then 10 seconds, not long at all. Can some one explain or point me in the right direction as to the legal/copyright requirements of this. I'm assuming you would need to get permission from the network, which means fees, and I don't want to pay anything since its only going to be a 5 minute film, its just a experimental short I'm working on, yet the clip would add greatly to the idea.

My question is, is it true that you can show a clip of something within a certain time limit before you have to start paying royalties on it, or no matter what you show you have to be get permission? Its not something I'm making money off its only going to be online if that matters.

I know some things are in the public free domain but this is a show from 2010 so its recent.

Any advice would be great, if I could get away with this without having lawyers at my door step that would be great :lol:!
 
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mixedcolors10 said:
is it true that you can show a clip of something within a certain time limit before you have to start paying royalties on it
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That is not true.


Its not something I'm making money off its only going to be online if that matters.
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That doesn't matter.


if I could get away with this without having lawyers at my door step that would be great
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Noone knows the odds of getting busted, or the severity of penalties, if any, 'til it happens. The more popular your video, the more likely it becomes - and a movie is no good if shelved, for fear of being caught, is it?

I know some things are in the public free domain
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There's a lot of great material in the PD. Try using some. :)
 
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There are many "just starting" composers who are willing to do work for the experience. And there are lots of indie bands/artists are more than willing to have one of their tracks in an indie project; it can take some serious digging, but well worth it.
 
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My full time job is in risk management. If you were one of my clients, I would be extremely concerned about the way you're rationalizing the use of somebody else's copyrighted work.

They say it's better to ask for forgiveness than seek permission, but in this case I would completely disagree. If somebody wants to sue you they will. It will cost you an obscene amount of money even if they don't have a case. But please don't give anyone an opportunity.

I agree with GuerrillaAngel too - if you really need to use somebody else's work to make your point, it's like a crutch and in no way will help your credibility as a filmmaker.
 
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I think my post totally got taken the wrong way :/

Its not a song I'm asking about it, its a clip from a tv series I mainly wanted to play it in the background, but it was for a specific reason. I was just asking what the law says about using copyright material, I couldn't really find a solid answer on google, wasn't sure if anyone here dealt with it.

But it seems like its going to be to much trouble to just have it in my film so forget it, it was just an idea I had. :) Thanks for advices though. I can try something else similar to what I wanted to do, just not exactly what I wanted.
 
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I just worked on a short that used a clip from the public domain film "Detour". Honestly, there's a ton of stuff that might be worth checking out.

Also, GuerillaAngel, I tend to disagree with you on that point.

See: Every French new wave film ever.
 
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GuerrillaAngel said:
So would music by The Beatles, or a clip from The Matrix . . . these are all short cuts. Its much harder to create impressive 100% original contents. Buying, borrowing or stealing works of others to put in your film actually diminishes yourself as a filmmaker.
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SixOhThree said:
I agree with GuerrillaAngel too - if you really need to use somebody else's work to make your point, it's like a crutch and in no way will help your credibility as a filmmaker.
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It can be a crutch if used inelegantly, but needn't necessarily be. There are lots of examples of very good films and TV shows using songs and clips from other films and TV shows to make a specific point in an elegant way (The Sopranos did it constantly, and Breaking Bad did it memorably with a clip from Scarface, etc). Obviously they have the budget and corporate backing to get the requisite clearances, but that doesn't make it a narrative crutch or diminish the credibility of the writers/directors.
 
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Even high budget movies show scenes on TV playing in the background. But, the trick they use is either they use a movie in public domain. Or, they own the rights to the TV show or movie shown on the TV.

I know indie filmmakers who use their old productions shown on TV as something to show on a TV running in the background.

So, that may be food for thought for you.
 
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Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC said:
Even high budget movies show scenes on TV playing in the background. But, the trick they use is either they use a movie in public domain. Or, they own the rights to the TV show or movie shown on the TV.

I know indie filmmakers who use their old productions shown on TV as something to show on a TV running in the background.

So, that may be food for thought for you.
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Spent an entire day once recording the sounds to come out of a TV (the screen wasn't visible) as a character flipped the channels.
 
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maz said:
It can be a crutch if used inelegantly, but needn't necessarily be. There are lots of examples of very good films and TV shows using songs and clips from other films and TV shows to make a specific point in an elegant way (The Sopranos did it constantly, and Breaking Bad did it memorably with a clip from Scarface, etc). Obviously they have the budget and corporate backing to get the requisite clearances, but that doesn't make it a narrative crutch or diminish the credibility of the writers/directors.
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Not to generalize, but I suspect many a newbie has an idea of "building a film" around a certain song or clip -- this is the major no-no I speak of. :cool:
 
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GuerrillaAngel said:
But if is in your film, you'll have to pay for that sound clip, or get it cleared, before you could sell your film. The lawyers at Warner Bros. will ask about it. :)
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If it is the filmmaker or production company's clip, they already own the rights. A Warner Bros. doing that may generate paperwork for in house billing purposes, but I doubt a small filmmaker will waste time with redundant paperwork and billing of their own film.
 
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