While the United States Constitution does not contain a single mention of a right to privacy, the United States Supreme Court has held that such a right is implicit in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The right of privacy has been defined as the right to live one’s life …
Before you decide to purchase the rights to a person’s life story, it is worth considering what you are buying. When you buy the rights to portray someone in film or television, you are buying a bundle of rights. These rights include protection from suits based on defamation, invasion of …
Many filmmakers have a vague understanding of the term “Chain of Title.” Often they don’t focus on this phrase until production has been completed and a distributor expresses interest in their film. They quickly discover that they must secure E&O insurance in order to make delivery to the distributor, and …
A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision is good news for filmmakers who want to rely on the fair use doctrine to include materials in their own work without obtaining permission. Stephanie Lenz is a mom who posted a 29-second amateur video onto YouTube of her children dancing in …
A still from Russell Sheaffer’s “Masculinity and Me”
What kind of income can a filmmaker expect to earn over his lifetime? A jury in San Diego recently considered that question and came up with a multi-million dollar award to a promising 26 year old filmmaker who suffered serious injuries …
Last year, I wrote an article titled “Do Your Actors Own Your Film?” criticizing the decision of a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit that found an actress who performed a small role was likely to succeed in her copyright claim in the film. The Court accepted the premise that …
Mark Litwak will be conducting an all-day seminar in New York City on April 24th, 2015 called Self Defense for Writers and Filmmakers with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. For more information, click here.
Filmmakers and profit participants often complain about distributors that engage in creative bookkeeping. This is one area …
In a pre-sale agreement, a buyer licenses or pre-buys movie distribution rights for a territory before the film has been produced. The deal works something like this: Filmmaker Henry, or his sales agent, approaches Distributor Juan to sign a contract to buy the right to distribute Henry’s next film. Henry …