Music copyright and show copyright Q’s

[Scott Sheriff]

[Scott Carnegie] “1. Copyright is instant upon the creation of the show, you don’t have to do anything else.”

FYI, here is the actual text from the copyright office web FAQ:

When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney’s fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration” and Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), on non-U.S. works.

I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.

Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair

Where were you on 6/21?

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Hi there,

I’ll speak to copyright as well as other intellectual property issues most productions ignore until its too late.

1) copyright your scripts. If you have written all of the scripts (the sole writing credit is you), then you can bundle them all together and copyright all at once. Do this BEFORE you start shooting. It costs $35 for each thing you want copyrighted so you can save a bit by having a collection of show scripts. If you need, you can also register each episode script with WGA – this is not completely necessary.

2) Get copyrights for each and every episode.

3) Further protection of intellectual property – everyone working on the project (cast and crew) should sign a release stating that they have no ownership of the property known as “name of show” and establish the show as a property. Ideally, you should have a company set up (like an LLC) so you are not at financial risk for liability in the event someone is hurt on set or, if the company runs into financial issues, they don’t effect your personal finances. Keep the money separate – never mix personal and business funds.

4) while it won’t necessarily protect you, you should also have everyone sign a waiver of damages and liability and have a clause that requires binding arbitration (versus taking on a lawsuit). There are probably more things that should be on this list – talk to an entertainment attorney for details. It’s not as expensive as you think.

5) Add some legitimacy to your production company and get a registered trademark, too. Trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets are all protected intellectual property under federal law. Trademarks are difficult so make sure you get a graphic designer who knows how to create a trademark-able logo.

6) every person who is or even MAY appear on screen should have a talent release signed. Ditto also for every single business should have a property release signed. Ditto also for every voice, image, artwork, face, etc. In other words, if it appears in your show, you should have a release for it – have a release or cut it out!

Music:
1) License. Easy way. It will cost you a lot to use anything top anything within the last year or 2 (many times even longer). Most movies get full rights to songs so they can republish them in a movie album and have the rights to use it in the movie. This saves trouble in the long run when that movie goes to pay cable, DVD/BluRay, theaters, broadcast, international, etc. Imagine having to re-negotiate music rights every time you wanted to license your property to another entity – it would literally blow your entire profit margin – do it once very early on. Remember that everything is negotiable – don’t take the first number as gospel. You’d be surprised how willing some places are to deal – just ask. Worst they can say is “no.”

2) be wary of discount music libraries. There are tons of places online to get music in all forms, but not all are built the same. For one, you should have rights to pretty much do whatever you want with the final version. If there are international restrictions or restrictions on re-distributing the material, make damn sure you can put it in your project. Remember, most TV shows make their money NOT from the first run on TV, but in DVD sales and syndication. You need to have the rights to the music so you can redistribute in multiple formats, around the world and many windows.

3) consider writing your own music – if you have a copy of garageband (don’t know the equivalent on Windows), you can write a catchy ditty for your show. Even if you have no lyrics, write some for the show (you get more in royalties if the song has lyrics – example is the lyrics to the original Star Trek theme (the music was written by Alexander Courage, but Roddenberry wrote lyrics that were never used so he could claim 50% of the royalties).

4) Not comfortable doing it yourself? Pay a local musician to do it. Remember to have them sign a release granting you exclusive rights to the music in perpetuity. You don’t want to have to renegotiate this later.

Now, I know you have a show and you just want to focus on the show without fiddling with all of this stuff. I guarantee you, if you plan for the show’s success now, you will be a far happier camper. It’s much more

Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293