thanks for the info

I wonder how doc makers like 'loose change' got away with all that they did!'

trish

You'd probably be able to get permission to use images "courtesy of" - far easier to contact a newpaper publisher than the nightmare which is music clearances... one contact point, likely fairly simple with an in house legal advisor who would probably regard it as "good publicity", as long as your use is not objectionable.

It's a good idea to give credit where credit is due and ask permission when it's appropriate. Sometimes you need to ask permission, sometimes you can use material under the terms of "fair use." The Center For Social Media worked with several other organizations to create the seminal document, "Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices In Fair Use," which is available at:

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/...s_in_fair_use/

their site also has lots of related information you will find of interest, for example, an excellent FAQ at:

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/...sked_questions

excellent - thanks for the tips and those links

I've been trying to find a 'how to' resource for this area - this a good start

Trish

I'm winding up post on a doc about an old 1970's movie; being able to use newspaper articles is such a bonus and adds tremendous impact to visuals. In my case, I was fortunate in that there was just one newspaper and it was regional. Many/most regional newspapers are owned by much larger companies now, but after explaining the nature of the story, they granted me one off use of articles for the doc. I would advise contacting someone in editorial, explain your situation and even ask if they'd be interested in doing a story on your doc.

<boorish_rant>
I'm somewhat at a loss to explain the number of posts I see from people mentioning "Fair Use" of copyrighted material as a legit excuse for not dealing with a copyright owner, and I'm thinking that most of these posts are from well-meaning folks (but not filmmakers) using educated guesses. Unless you're making a home movie or plan on distributing yourself, no serious distributor will touch a doc unless you provide them a binder containing releases, etc. covering material, interviews etc.. It's almost impossible to get a pickup nowadays anyway without removing all chance. And this isn't even considering the unthinkable that the newspaper owners/lawyers will one day see your doc and take you to court.
</boorish_rant>

Yes, there's a lot of misunderstanding and false notions out there regarding the concept of "fair use" in copyright law. That's why the American Center for Social Media has published a wide range of resources on this issue, including the FAQ I mentioned above: Fair Use Frequently Asked Questions -- Publications -- Center for Social Media at American University and more recently, they've published "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video" available at Online Video Resources -- Center for Social Media at American University which is along the lines of their highly respected ""Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices In Fair Use."

I hope you did not take my post to imply that fair use is a way to use stuff without permission. But there are provisions in copyright law, a body of case law, and best practices in several industries, that together provide guidelines about when it might be legitimate to "quote" other people's media in you own work. Any discussion of fair use should start with the American Center for Social Media's resource pages. Their documents are widely used and respected by both content users and content owners.

This forum helps a lot with this situation.

There is so much cloked in secrecy about copywrite that one really has to look for an explainantion.

The general lack of information out there about what you can not do implies that one can do a lot of violations, until one is educated.

Unfortunately, education can in theory be expensive... if it results in litigation. A good rule is if there's going to be money involved in any way... you really should get clearances. Or if it's going to broadcast...

When you can get them, yes, it's a good idea, but one reason the Center for Social Media has worked to both educate people and document best practices is that sometimes media makers need to be able to use media without permission, and there are clear and well understood best practices in the field of documentary filmmaking. One should always seek legal advice, but one should not assume you have to get clearance for everything. There are best practices for this. If we were unable to quote media for critical analysis and educational use, media owners could completely choke public discourse and control the free exchange of information, especially critical information. The original intent of copyright law was to provide a limited monopoly. Today, the time limits are so long, that fair use becomes more and more important. At the risk of starting an off-topic debate, I suggest reading Lawrence Lessig's blogs and books (see http://www.lessig.org/blog/) for a philosophical perspective. For industry best practices however, the documents and educational materials from the Center for Social Media are the best place to start.

Ditto that. Unfortunately, this ends up not being a philosophical argument, but a legal one. It's gotten to the stage where I wish that there was a forum filter that blocked posts that include the expression "fair use"! Unless you're making a home movie, assume the use of any copyrighted material will need to be formally dealt with (that often, but not always, will involve a payment), or make sure that you have an intellectual property lawyer/trial attorney in the family, or have unlimited deep pockets to pay for legal representation.

Forum members should be very careful in pointing newby's to subjective interpretations of "fair use" arguments in using copyrighted or protected material. I'd argue a more useful subject view of Fair Use can be found here:
CSPD Zoomed Comic

Greg

Can you post a link to this? I checked Sundance.org and didnt see anything. Im interested in knowing what would be required with a release doing a documentary. I guess Im wondering if I need to have my subjects that I interview, sign anything and if so, what.

Thanks!

Steve