Very OT: Can anyone recommend a good book dealing with copyright issues?

corug7 wrote on 2/5/2004, 6:09 AM
As is witnessed by the long threads regarding music copyright, there is a lot to be confused about regarding the GENERAL issue of copyright. For some of us interested in making DV movies, the possibilities are mindboggling. I am wondering if anyone can recommend a book that deals with issues such as trademarks (Nike shoes, Pontiac cars, etc) and other issues of copyright when committing images to film or video. Thoughts, anyone?

Comments

craftech wrote on 2/5/2004, 6:55 AM
Jay Rose on DV.com wrote a great article on this called "Copy Rites". If you don't have a password, just sign up to read it:

http://www.dv.com/columns/audio_solutions.jhtml

John
Spot|DSE wrote on 2/5/2004, 7:01 AM
There isn't a 'consumer' level book that talks about this much, it seems lawyers are too busy and publishers will rarely publish a book on legal issues without an attorney being a co-writer.
Patent, Copyright & Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference by Stephen Elias is on my shelf, and so is Music Copyright for the New Millennium -David J. Moser. Neither one are of great use for video folks, and while Elias' book is very good, it's an extremely tough read. Written for attorneys, not the rest of us.
If you can grab a copy of the December NARAS publication for the Inside Industry, there is a fairly large article on this subject that I contributed some 20,000 words to. You can read part of just my section at the http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb site, look under tutorials. It doesn't cover trademarked logos such as Nike, but that's a fairly easy one to figure out. You can also find my article in a slightly different format on the DV.Com and CMPBooks sites. There is a LOT of laymen's info on the web regarding use of trademarks, most of it pretty good. Look at Harvard's website for really solid info if you don't mind slogging through a lot of words.
corug7 wrote on 2/5/2004, 10:49 AM
Thanks for the pointers, guys. I'll follow up on them.
JackW wrote on 2/5/2004, 11:04 AM
Check out "Know your (copy) rights" http://www.lafcpug.org/curseofdigital_feature.html, an article by Dr. Mary Lynn Nichols, Ph.D. Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro TN, a nationally recognized authority on media copyright issues.

I heard her speak at an ITVA meeting a couple of years ago and she really knows her stuff.

One point she made, that argues against a book on the subject, is that the nuances of copyright law are constantly changing, and that what may be true today may be changed a month from now.

Two additional sites of value are:

"Supnik.co" http://www.supnik.com/, a web site maintained by attorney Paul D. Supnik, with links to articles about every aspect of entertainment law.

"Wired Law" http://www.wiredlaw.com/links.html, law links for entertainment and new media.
DavidMcKnight wrote on 2/5/2004, 12:15 PM
What I knew before getting into video was from This Business of Music, though the book also covers, well, lots of stuff related to music. I believe it's published by Billboard Press and updated about every year. My copy was from 1984 or so.
24Peter wrote on 2/5/2004, 3:57 PM
Haven't read it yet but I am a lawyer and the author is very well known in the entertainment industry. Supposedly (based on "Filmmaker's" review) it is written for the lay person: "Clearance & Copyright: What Every Independent Filmmaker Needs to Know" by Michael C. Donaldson. Covers all copyright and rights clearance issues for film production and even includes form contracts.
ArmyVideo wrote on 2/5/2004, 4:42 PM
I have an excellent book on copyright issues. It covers not only music, but video and contracts as well. It's titled "Media Law for Producers "by attorney Philip Miller. You can pick it up on amazon, or any other book retailer- Amazon Link

The related books info on the amazon page also refernces other books that seem very relevant. The edition I have is the third, the one on Amazon is the fourth.
I won't say that this book will answer every question you have, but it covers A LOT, including detailed information on Fair Use, Sync Rights, etc.
RexA wrote on 2/6/2004, 12:52 AM
>Check out "Know your (copy) rights"

I haven't read it yet, but it took me a little while to find the article. Here is a more direct link: