Clients wants to copyright my FCP file

[Mark Raudonis]

[Rafael Amador] “Some times I spend weeks sleeping in huts and eating rats and bamboo-shots. “

For that, you can own it!!!! 🙂

On the other hand, this “ownership” argument really splits between those who work with a contract specifically spelling out their rights and those who don’t. Any person or company doing work for
a major network is going to have a phone book sized contract that goes into excruciating detail as to
who owns the copyright and what’s expected for delivery. End of story.

It’s these smaller projects where nothing was put in writing that keeps the lawyers happy.

Mark

[Rafael Amador]

[Mark Raudonis] “For that, you can own it!!!! 🙂 “
Tanks Mark:-)

[Mark Raudonis] “Any person or company doing work for
a major network is going to have a phone book sized contract that goes into excruciating detail as to
who owns the copyright and what’s expected for delivery. End of story”
but the most part of us don’t work with big companies and we prefer contracts that we can sign without a lawyer beside.
The question is to know how to do or what to expect when there is nothing wrote about a point.
Normally I avoid to say nothing about the rushes because is like to bring bad ideas to the head of my customer. If he mention, OK we talk. If not in the contract is very clear that he gets a video finished and ready for distribution. End of the story.

I understand that if I’m hired as a cameraman the rushes belong to the client.
In that case my client have to tell me exactly what and how he need me to shoot.
I will work the hours that we have agree, and when finished I will give him the rushes.

Back to the question of Maria about giving the project to the client,I think that that would depends a lot about the very project.
If you have been acting just like a “video operator” and you have been really working under the direction of your customer, the project is his “opera” and belong to him.
if you have been breaking your head to make something nice and overpassed the expectations of your client so much that now he wants to make with your project a TEMPLATE, (and repeat it without extra cost), no, the project is yours.
There is also a market for TEMPLATES.
Rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Maria Cooper]

Any idea how I would make this into a template? I was thinking of the FCP file as a template (along with scratch disk and needed files). Thank you to everyone, we have a contractual agreement about the fcp file, I just wanted to inform my client if it was even an option for her to copyright it. She is interested in the copyright.Thank you again. Maria

[Mark Suszko]

As my mom never tires of reminding me, I am NOT a lawyer. But I think your client would have a hard time enforcing any kind of exclusivity on the actual FCP file, which is essentially an Edit Decision List (EDL) I see where she is going, in that she wants to lock in ownership of a “template” program, changing only the specific footage but retaining the same rhythm and cuts. You are on the jury: I show you two lists that say “footage roll A, duration, 23 seconds, 12 frames, cut to Footage roll B, 9 seconds, zero frames, lap dissolve with a rate of 15 frames to roll C, duration 32 seconds……” The lists of commands are the same… but the finished product could be dramatically different, depending on what the footage is.

If I was the lawyer, I might demonstrate or talk about the famous editing experiment by Kuleshov and/or Pudovkin, where he used the same footage of an actor emoting nothing, but by juxtaposing it each time against various other footage that changed the context, it seemed to the test audience like he was alternately happy, sad, hungry, etc. even when it was the same footage. Fifty percent of the shots (the guy) were IDENTICAL in length and placement in each version, like they would be in your Project File. But each version was STILL radically different in meaning. This is the heart of Montage. And what your client doesn’t understand about it is that while you certainly can do a cookie-cutter assembly of like footage to imitate an original work, as soon as you use substantially different footage, even if the cutting durations and effects are the same, the meaning is radically changed. At that point, you have a new and unique creative work. How could anybody copyright that? She doesn’t get that EVERY EDIT IS A CUSTOM JOB. Even those that use repetitive elements like car ads for co-ops where you just change the graphic overlays. This is not like the George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” lawsuit. You might as well try to copyright a 4/4 drum pattern.

Can she protect her signature look by never allowing anyone else synch rights to her special music? Yes. Can she patent the specific assembly of your shots? I doubt it. If you want to please the client, give them the FCP project file, it won’t really do her any good or “protect” anything.

[Bob Bonniol]

We’ve all ignored a giant factor here: An FCP file is inherently a part of the program Final Cut. I seriously, seriously doubt that it is permmissable under the Apple EULA. I’m going to check. The look of the FCP timeline, the processes, the software that creates it… All that is trademarked, patented, and copyrighted by Apple already.

The finished product can certainly be registered for copyright, but that still doesn’t give your client any control of the ‘idea’ of memorial videos. It only protects THAT specific piece.

I don’t think she really understands or knows how intellectual property law works honestly.

Best,
Bob Bonniol

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Live Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Timothy J. allen]

I’m missing something here. Is your client planning to resell or assign license to a Final Cut Project file as a “template” timeline? It seems to me that your client should focus on trademarking the things that make the program distinctive and valuable. Once she registers the trademark, she’s given notice that others are not allowed to copy those elements without permission. She could then reassign rights to use those elements from that point.
But copyright the timeline? I’ve read the licenses for a fair amount of plug-ins and they don’t allow reassignment. I don’t have a FCP agreement handy, but offhand, I wouldn’t expect you to be able to assign rights to a project file, since Apple (and their partners) hold rights to the file format and underlying technology. The closest thing I’d see to this would be to count an EDL as a “trade secret” like a recipe, but I really doubt that would fly either.

[Richard Herd]

[Maria Cooper] “Any idea how I would make this into a template?”

Yes, but it depends the actual meaning of “template.” Template is an important branding term. I use Alpha Video’s CastNET software, which is based in a nifty program called Scala.

This software/hardware would be ideal for a screened event, not so great to make DVDs (not sure what you’re after, here). CastNET is really difficult to describe, but in effect, this is the software used in casinos all over the world and in movie cinemas as an advertising tool. The templates are made in a series of software (FCP, CS3, and InfoChannel Designer). A user (non-specialist) interacts with a Web interface to fill-in the content, the video, text, jpgs, audio, loop schedule, exact schedule.

[Shane Ross]

This video is PERFECT for this post…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

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