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November 2005 Publications
Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use
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Documentary filmmakers have created, through their professional associations, a clear, easy to understand statement of fair and reasonable approaches to fair use. Fair Use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it. It is a crucial feature of copyright law. In fact, it is what keeps copyright from being censorship. You can invoke fair use when the value to the public of what you are saying outweighs the cost to the private owner of the copyright.
Click here to download this useful handbook, written by veteran filmmakers to help other filmmakers understand some instances where using copyrighted material without clearance is considered fair use.
Statement Authors
- Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers
- Independent Feature Project
- International Documentary Association
- National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture
- Women in Film & Video (Washington, D.C., chapter)
Statement Endorsers
- Arts Engine
- Bay Area Video Coalition
- CINE
- Doculink
- Electronic Arts Intermix
- Full Frame Festival
- Independent Television Service
- Joost
- Kartemquin Films
- National Video Resources
- P.O.V./American Documentary
- University Film and Video Association
- Video Association of Dallas
- Women Make Movies
- Video Association of Dallas
Related Links
- Digital Futures: A Need-to-Know Policy Guide for Independent Filmmakers
- Expanding User Rights For Documentary Filmmakers
- Success of the Statement of Best Practices
- The Good, The Bad and the Confusing: User-Generated Video Creators on Copyright
- Unauthorized: The Copyright Conundrum in Participatory Video
- Fair Use Frequently Asked Questions
Discussion
I’d love to interview someone on the subject and the production of the guide on Creative Planet’s Digital Production BuZZ. I am the managing editor.
Posted by BuZZmeister on Feb 23, 2007 at 5:37 PM
Hello and thanks for this. Can I use drive-by video clips (I’ll shoot this myself) of billboards advertising various products as an example of advertising in America? Avg clip would be about 7 seconds on each billboard. Also, can I use photos (not my own) of famous personalities, some living and some dead, for about 7 seconds each as examples of famous couples, sports stars, politicians in the modern world? (My documentary is a comparison between life & culture in the ancient world of Pompeii,Italy, and life & culture in the modern world.) Please advise, and thanks again.
Suzette Kitselman
Inspired Entertainment
310-396-3802
Posted by SuzetteKitselman on May 8, 2007 at 8:56 AM
I have a question. Our site deals with equine sporting events. If we are taking photo’s and video clips of competitors at events to display on our site do we need some type of release from the competitor? And is there a differance between photos of adults vs. photos of youth?
Also in many cases there will be profesional photographers that are licenced by the event. Do we need to get autherization from them?
Up to this point I felt that we were a news service and thus were free to take these pictures. But wanted to double check with someone that deals more directly with these issues.
Mark