Creativity and Copyright: Legal Essentials for Screenwriters and Creative Artists - Softcover

Geiger, John L.; Suber, Howard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520303539 ISBN 13: 9780520303539

Verlag: University of California Press, 2019

Inhaltsangabe

What they won't teach you in film school: This expertly written reference guide breaks down copyright laws for screenwriters.

Inspired by Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, this elegant, short reference is the perfect guide for screenwriters and creative artists looking to succeed as industry professionals. Readers will quickly understand the laws that govern creativity, idea-making, and selling, and learn how to protect themselves and their works from the legal quagmires they may encounter. Written by an unrivaled pair of experts, John L. Geiger and Howard Suber, who use real-life case studies to cover topics such as clearance, contracts, collaboration, and infringement, Creativity and Copyright is poised to become an indispensable resource for beginners and experts alike.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

John L. Geiger is a screenwriter and intellectual property attorney in Los Angeles with thirty-plus years of litigation and transactional experience representing a broad variety of entertainment professionals including screenwriters, producers, directors, and actors.
 
Howard Suber has taught generations of screenwriters, directors, producers, and film scholars during his more than fifty years at UCLA’s celebrated film school. He has also been a consultant and expert witness for Hollywood studios and networks on copyright and creative control matters.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

"A must read for those who create original work and want to understand the line between copyrighted material and what they create."—Mike Medavoy, film producer and former studio head, whose filmography ranges from Rocky to Black Swan

"Creativity and Copyright is the grail you will never find in film school. Although written with the writer in mind, I would easily argue it's also a must-know for filmmakers, producers, managers—a no-regrets resource that finally reveals the creative power to be unleashed by your own legal muscle."—Demetra J. MacBride, producer of Mystery Train, Night on Earth, When Pigs Fly, Coffee and Cigarettes, and Dead Man

“A handy, user-friendly book for screenwriters who are looking for immediate, precise answers to their most pressing questions.”—Denise Mann, head of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Producers Program

“All aspiring and working screenwriters should keep this book next to their computers.”—Daniel Bernardi, author of Off the Page: Screenwriting in the Era of Media Convergence

“Somehow Geiger and Suber make crystal clear a topic every writer struggles to understand. Put it on your bookshelf next to the dictionary and thesaurus; it could save you from heartbreak, broken friendships, and financial ruin. Oh, and it’s also a great read."—Daniel Pyne, showrunner, screenwriter, and author

“Geiger and Suber provide the most comprehensive and accessible guide to the legal realities and avoidable missteps in the business—as well as how not to get ripped off!"—Writer-director Robin Russin, coauthor of Screenplay: Writing the Picture

“I can’t imagine anyone else approaching this material more capably or in such a reader-friendly manner.”—Tom Nunan, producer of Crash and The Illusionist

Aus dem Klappentext

"A must read for those who create original work and want to understand the line between copyrighted material and what they create."&;Mike Medavoy, film producer and former studio head, whose filmography ranges from Rocky to Black Swan

"Creativity and Copyright is the grail you will never find in film school. Although written with the writer in mind, I would easily argue it's also a must-know for filmmakers, producers, managers&;a no-regrets resource that finally reveals the creative power to be unleashed by your own legal muscle."&;Demetra J. MacBride, producer of Mystery Train, Night on Earth, When Pigs Fly, Coffee and Cigarettes, and Dead Man

&;A handy, user-friendly book for screenwriters who are looking for immediate, precise answers to their most pressing questions.&;&;Denise Mann, head of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television&;s Producers Program

&;All aspiring and working screenwriters should keep this book next to their computers.&;&;Daniel Bernardi, author of Off the Page: Screenwriting in the Era of Media Convergence

&;Somehow Geiger and Suber make crystal clear a topic every writer struggles to understand. Put it on your bookshelf next to the dictionary and thesaurus; it could save you from heartbreak, broken friendships, and financial ruin. Oh, and it&;s also a great read."&;Daniel Pyne, showrunner, screenwriter, and author

&;Geiger and Suber provide the most comprehensive and accessible guide to the legal realities and avoidable missteps in the business&;as well as how not to get ripped off!"&;Writer-director Robin Russin, coauthor of Screenplay: Writing the Picture

&;I can&;t imagine anyone else approaching this material more capably or in such a reader-friendly manner.&;&;Tom Nunan, producer of Crash and The Illusionist

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Creativity and Copyright

Legal Essentials for Screenwriters and Creative Artists

By John L. Geiger, Howard Suber

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Copyright © 2019 John L. Geiger and Howard Suber
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-520-30353-9

Contents

Acknowledgments, 
Disclaimer, 
Introduction, 
1. Free for the Taking: What You Can Steal from Others, and What Others Can Steal from You, 
2. Clearance Required: What You Do Need Permission to Use, 
3. Collaboration, 
4. Selling to Others and Implied-in-Fact Contracts, 
5. Copyright Infringement, 
6. Your Legal Team, 
7. Confessions of an Expert Witness: Free for the Telling, 
Epilogue: Creativity and Copyright, 
Appendix A. Copyright Fundamentals, 
Appendix B. Collaboration Problems, 
Notes, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Free for the Taking

What You Can Steal from Others, and What Others Can Steal from You

We believe that the [writer's] argument rests on a misunderstanding of the nature of the protection afforded by copyright law. It is well established that, as a matter of law, certain forms of literary expression are not protected against copying.

United States Supreme Court, Berkic v. Crichton, 1985

We are not merely being provocative when we use the word "steal" in the title of this chapter. All too often, "stealing" is what creators feel they'd be doing if they read or see something somewhere and then use it themselves without getting permission. Correspondingly, when someone else takes something of ours, too often we say, "They've stolen my stuff!" Copyright law is not simply limiting; it is also liberating. Writers often unnecessarily constrict their creativity, thinking "I can't do that" because of copyright law. But you are freer than you think.

WORKS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

Perhaps the easiest way to understand public domain is to think of it as the opposite of copyright. Any work not protected by copyright is within what is referred to as the public domain. In this chapter, we discuss the major categories of public domain materials that are free for the taking by you:

Expired copyrights
Facts/nonfiction
News and history
Ideas
Scènes à faire Fair use of copyrighted works

EXPIRED COPYRIGHTS

Copyright protection does not last forever. Instead, protection is granted for a limited time, as set by statute. When copyright protection expires, the work then falls into the public domain and becomes free for anyone and everyone to use.

For reference or a refresher on the rules of copyright, see appendix A, "Copyright Fundamentals."

We periodically see remakes of movies based on classic works of literature. That's partly because those classics have fallen into the public domain. Any work by a deceased author first published before 1923 is in the public domain and is free for the taking. And that's most of the works that literature professors would call "classics."

For example, here's a sampling of two classics we see repeatedly:

Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare, 1597)

1936 — Leslie Howard (Romeo), Norma Shearer (Juliet), John Barrymore (Mercutio)

1954 — Laurence Harvey (Romeo), Susan Shentall (Juliet), Flora Robson (Nurse)

1968 — Leonard Whiting (Romeo), Olivia Hussey (Juliet), John McEnery (Mercutio)

1976 — Christopher Neame (Romeo), Ann Hasson (Juliet), Laurence Payne (Capulet)

1996 — Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo), Claire Danes (Juliet)

2014 — Orlando Bloom (Romeo), Condola Rashad (Juliet), Donté Bonner (Sampson)

Great Expectations (Charles Dickens, 1860)

1934 — Henry Hull (Magwitch), Phillips Holmes (Pip), Jane Wyatt (Estrella)

1946 — John Mills (Pip), Valerie Hobson (Estella), Tony Wager (Young Pip)

1974 — Michael York (Pip), Sarah Miles (Estella), James Mason (Magwitch)

1998 — Ethan Hawke (Pip), Gwyneth Paltrow (Estella), Hank Azaria (Walter Plane)

1999 — Ioan Gruffudd (Pip), Justine Waddell (Estella), Charlotte Rampling (Miss Havisham)

2012 — Toby Irvine (Young Pip), Ralph Fiennes (Magwitch), Jason Flemyng (Joe Gargery)

2013 — Jack Ellis (Jaggers), Christopher Ellison (Magwitch), Paula Wilcox (Miss Havisham)

All of these filmmakers have "stolen" from the original stories of Shakespeare or Dickens. The approaches and tonality may be different, but the underlying story is the same. That's because works by Shakespeare were never under copyright statutory protection, and works by Dickens have all fallen out of copyright protection.

Currently, the United States copyright protection period is from the date of creation through the life of the author plus another seventy years.

How do you know if a copyright has expired? For Shakespeare and Dickens and anyone else who published and passed away so long ago, you don't need to worry or even do the math.

But what about for more recent authors, for example, twentieth-century novelists? You need to do a copyright search. Find the date of original publication, and then determine what the copyright duration was under the law at that time. Then do the math. For more about the changes (i.e., increases) in the duration of copyright protection in the information age, see appendix A, "Copyright Fundamentals."

If you're really concerned, you could engage the services of a lawyer for an hour or so to do this analysis for you, and then have them give you a written opinion letter confirming that the work is no longer under copyright protection.

For more, see the section about the movie Treasure Planet in chapter 7, "Confessions of an Expert Witness."

FACTS/NONFICTION Facts are in the public domain, and they are free for the taking.

The world is full of facts, and we don't just mean physical properties. When was the last time you saw a mathematical equation with a copyright notice on it? That's because the equation is a fact (or at least the author claims it's a fact).

Works published by the United States government are in the public domain because they are expressly excluded from copyright protection. The government is not in the business of writing fiction. (Individual politicians may very well be, but the institution as a whole is not!) Moreover, government writing is done using our tax money. We taxpayers — the public at large — are the patrons. Public patrons, public domain.

The federal government writes training manuals, informational pamphlets, and other such pragmatic nonfiction. And the government is the publisher of the transcripts from court proceedings (which, as you might imagine, can be very fertile ground for story material).

For storytelling purposes, the most useable facts typically are those involving real events and real people. Perhaps the two biggest categories of factual works are biography (true life) and news and history (true events).

Biography — and biopics — are discussed in chapter 2, "Clearance Required."

NEWS AND HISTORY

News is the factual reporting of current events. History is the factual reporting of past events.

We can hear you grumbling from here! You say, "But news is sensationalized to attract an audience, history is written by the winners, and there is 'fake news' all over the place." We don't want to delve into a philosophical discussion about the nature of facts; that is, the reporting of...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: University of California Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2019
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0520303539
• ISBN 13: 9780520303539
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 216
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar