What are the Copyright laws concerning News footage?
by Kate Lindsay
on
Sep 12, 2009 at 11:16:47 pm
I'm creating a trailer promoting a non-profit project aimed at helping humanity. My client would like this to include, rather broadly, stills of the plight and progress of humanity, as well as video footage depicting current events in the news. This may be an obvious no, but I'm wondering if I can use footage from say, CNN, of say the president speaking or natural disaster imagery as part of a montage? How do copyright laws work concerning the news media? Is anything public domain, especially for non-commercial projects? The finished trailer is intended for use in email, on the client's personal site, as an intro to his show on the local Public Access, and possibly as a part of a free informational DVD he would give out or on social networking sites like Youtube. How should I be thinking about this? Any help would be greatly appreciated, the sooner the better, even if you could just provide me with a good reference on this topic.
Re: What are the Copyright laws concerning News footage? by David Roth Weiss on Sep 13, 2009 at 1:27:41 am
Kate,
CNN is very much beholden to the stock holders of it's parent company, Time Warner, and they license stock footage from their news broadcasts to producers at every level of the film, television, and new media industries, including those for profit and non-profit.
Your client is well-intentioned, and may be able to negotiate discounted license fees or possibly even a waiver, but that all has to be discussed and negotiated upfront and in writing with the people who own the material. There is no free lunch...
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW's Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
Re: What are the Copyright laws concerning News footage? by Noah Kadner on Sep 13, 2009 at 12:42:53 pm
I bet you'll find what you need at archive.org, I probably wouldn't waste time at CNN unless one of the participants is say Oprah. There's no free lunch at CNN as David says. Though with the magic of the internet, it's breakfast in America all over the place.
Re: What are the Copyright laws concerning News footage? by Kate Lindsay on Sep 15, 2009 at 11:08:11 pm
I checked out archive.org. Thanks for the tip, it has an amazing collection! Just for clarification, can I use excerpts from anything on that site? I noticed the creative commons trademark on a few videos, and its absence on many others. Does that mean that only some of the media is usable without permission?
[Kate Lindsay]"What is the proper format for this type of request? "
Prepare a brief one-paragraph summary of what you're company is working on, and create simple wish list that contains ideas of what you hope to find in their archives, such as:
1) Vice President Cheney looking out through jail bars, discusses his arrest and conviction by the world court.
2) Rush Limbaugh arrested for falsifying a Viagra prescription.
3) Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove caught in Greenwich Village bath house tryst.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW's Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
Re: What are the Copyright laws concerning News footage? by Charles Mercer on Sep 23, 2009 at 8:02:55 am
Hi. As Copyright is being discussed, I have a question which concerns a broader issue. I have just taken some footage here in the UK in a historical town which will be used to promote the client's services. I now want to approach other clients in the same area of business and to offer a similar style of video. As I'm shooting exactly the same shots of the town, can I use the original footage (edited in a different sequence) and offer these to the new client? Would this be an infringement of copyright? Avoiding a re-shoot is going to save a lot of work and will only produce the same (if modified) footage. Do I have a moral or legal issue here?
Re: What are the Copyright laws concerning News footage? by David Roth Weiss on Sep 30, 2009 at 7:22:46 pm
[Charles Mercer]"s I'm shooting exactly the same shots of the town, can I use the original footage (edited in a different sequence) and offer these to the new client? Would this be an infringement of copyright?"
Sorry to answer so long after your original post Charles...
The answer is most likely all in the wording of your contract/agreement with your clients. I think you must add a line somewhere that indicates that b-roll footage, or generic/environmental footage, is non-exclusive, and that you reserve all rights to that material.
Hope this helps...
David
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW's Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
Re: What are the Copyright laws concerning News footage? by Charles Mercer on Oct 2, 2009 at 8:27:29 am
Hi David, thanks for your reply. I've just beefed up my client contract as my insurance company has imposed some pretty fierce covenants. I now say, in fancy legal words, that all digital files/video tapes are the property of my company. This would give me the right to use them as I see fit, and a bit of re-cutting should keep everyone happy. I now have a two page order form instead one simple agreement and the legaleese makes it look a bit client-unfriendly. But knowing what can happen in our business, I can't really see an alternative.
Regards,
Charles
