Cinema Canada (May-Jun 1975)

The Money “It's almost as if the game is being re-invented every day.’’ — Allan King The Idea ( As the producer, before you receive any money from investors or make any distribution arrangement, you will have to prove that you legally have the rights to any material that forms part of your film. The various parties will require ‘warranties’ from you or your production company ‘indemnifying’ them if any action occurs regarding their ownership. In other words, you pay the damages. So when you have determined that you want to take out an option on a book or original screenplay, insure that the copyright possessor does in fact have the copyright on the work. Then you may buy the rights with confidence. Copyright itself rests with the original author. He does not have to. register it or even have it published. By creating it, it is his. But it’s not that simple when you come to use it. If you think you are using information or events in ‘the public domain’, determine whether any books have been published on it. For reasons explained later, it may be in your interest to acquire rights to published material. However, it isn’t necessary to do so. The original copyright owner must warrant that his copyright doesn’t invade privacy, libel, or infringe on another copyright. Even though Canadian copyright law doesn’t really recognise invasion of privacy, except in one area not related to film, film is an international medium, and other countries do recognise it, as well as libel or slander. Defamation of public reputation through visual, oral, or written means (libel) or verbally (slander), as well as invasion of privacy (harming feelings or emotions, destroying solitude, exploiting without permission, misrepresenting, public disclosure of private facts) can hold up release or even shelve a film, as well as cost large amounts in reparations. Get permission in writing for all material. You cannot copyright an idea itself, or even a character of your own or someone else’s invention. You can copyright a method of expression, and you can contract to sell an idea. (In the U.S. this is common practice; there are few precedents in Canada.) The time has come for you to obtain the rights to published material or an original script. Since there is no guarantee of production, instead of buying the rights outright, purchase an option on material. You pay a smaller sum, usually five or ten per cent of the final price, for the right to explore production for a given time. Details of the subsequent purchase should be included in the option agreement, and might include a screenplay contract and method of payment for the copyright owner. Remember that he still owns the material at all times; he is licencing you to exploit the rights, or transfering them to you. In the option agreement, make sure that you procure all the necessary rights for exploiting the material. You must be able to adapt, modify and translate the material; use the title of the original work; make the film, advertise and publicise it; distribute and exhibit it; exploit it in other media such as television, radio, video discs and cassettes; show it on hotel TV, pay TV, aircrafts and ships, cable TV; make a novel of an original script; make sequels and spinoffs such as TV series; remake and re-issue it; use the characters in other forms; and merchandise the characters and events if you can. The period of time copyright is in force is during the life of the author plus fifty years for published material, or fifty years from publication if an author dies and his work is published after his death. To help you along, you can obtain an ‘Errors and Omissions’ insurance policy to protect you against possible claims of copyright invasion. For this policy you will need ‘releases’ or written permission to use a given piece of material or character. And copyright applies to any material used, be it a piece of music or radio broadcast on the film soundtrack or a TV commercial shown in the film or a 6