Re: Who owns raw footage?

I find that many people have a hard time understanding what a "copyrighted work" is and what can and cannot be classified as a "copyrighted work."

Steve Wargo's lawyer supports my view/understanding of copyright. If you bill for the tape, the client owns the tape. And probably gets the copyrighted, recorded image that comes with the tape. I'm guessing that the selling of the tape implies selling of the image too. BTW: thanks for the tip, Steve.

I believe the analogy of "purchased office supplies" is the same as "purchased copyrighted images" is false. Office supplies are "things" that do not fall under copyright infringement. The packaging design is copyrighted and the things themselves (paper, ink, etc.) may have patents, but the products/deliverables themselves do not fall under the criteria of "copyrighted works." Copyrights and patents are different things.

From what I've read in some of these posts (and please forgive me if I'm wrong) it seems like some people and their clients are confused about the difference(s) between "breach of contract" and "copyright infringement." As I stated earlier in my post, I believe the client needs to have a "Work for Hire" agreement/contract signed in order to obtain copyright from the artist who recorded the image. Having a "Work for Hire" agreement/contract allows you to sue for "breach of contract" vs. copyright infringement. If the Work for Hire states that the client owns every single thing, then they will own every single thing when you sign it. If you don't deliver what you say you will, then you have breached your contract.

Copyright infringement is a federal offense and requires federal courts to process. Breach of Contract can be processed as a local/state offense, and thus does not have to go through the federal court system. It's A LOT easier to sue for breach of contract than it is for copyright infringement. Get contracts so that you can go through your local courts vs. the federal court system.

Once again, these are all just my opinions.

Bruce