An anonymous viewer asks whether the producers of “Oz: The Great and Powerful”, scheduled for release in 2012 needed to make an arrangement with the copyright holders for “The Wizard of Oz”, or whether a loosely based “homage” can be done without copyright clearance My Answer:
Paul is planning to use public domain music, reinterpreted for his film score and wants to know what rights and agreements he will need. QUESTION: Paul wants to know: Does a film producer need copyright permission for a classical film music score, if the score is being reinterpreted by the producer’s own composers and…
Guy asks what to do about rights to a book, when you can’t find the heirs of a deceased author, and the publisher is defunct.
Damian asks about using a pre-existing film’s title for his new screenplay. Here’s my answer:
“When is a work ‘Original’, and when is it an ‘adaptation’?”
Q: Dave asks how to get an entertainment lawyer to sell a script. I give my answer
In this video, I answer a question about whether it’s OK to pay a finder’s fee to a contact who facilitates sale of a script.
Q: Is is worth registering a script with both the WGA and US Copyright Office and then should the registration numbers by shown on the title page of the script? I give my answer: This is intended as general information only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for a…
Q: If you wish to include public buildings as set pieces in your script, will that cost money and require permits to shoot if the script is produced? Would avoidance or substitution of any signage make any difference? A: First let me just advise that you let the producer worry about this. Your script WILL…
Q: My screenplay is based on a true story. Most of the characters are long deceased and the facts of the story are on public record. However there are four people still living whose names appear and two of which are characters. I’m not doing life stories of either rather just using their names and depicting brief appearances. Is there some kind of standard release I can obtain without a long legal document?