Copyright Videos - The Documentary Network

What is Fair Use in a Documentary Film?

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 17:49:33 +0000

With a maze of copyright laws to navigate, filmmakers need a hand in editing their movies to get them legally up to snuff. For this reason, Ondi and Vlad from BYOD brought doc advocate and entertainment lawyer Michael C. Donaldson to clarify some of the key points surrounding Fair Use. They discuss satire, using clips, and how filmmakers can secure the same rights of confidentiality as journalists. So what is allowed? What's not? You can jump right to the topic you are most interested in (see below) or just watch the whole video, highly recommended for any documentary filmmaker. GUEST BIO: Michael C. Donaldson is an American entertainment attorney, independent film advocate and a recipient of the International Documentary Association's Amicus Award, an honor bestowed upon only two others, Steven Spielberg and John Hendricks, in the 25-year history of the awards. He is a proponent of the 165-year-old fair-use doctrine and, through its use, is known for saving documentarians hundreds of thousands of dollars while preserving their First Amendment rights. In addition to serving as General Counsel to Film Independent (home of the Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival) and the Writers Guild of America/West Foundation, Donaldson practices at his Beverly Hills law firm, Donaldson & Callif, where, in 2008, entertainment attorney Lisa Callif became a named partner. Time Topic 00:49 Welcoming Michael Donaldson. 02:33 Michael's path to entertainment law. 05:14 The wrong reason to write a script. 06:26 Writing "Clearance and Copyright." 09:04 The explosion of fair use revenue. 12:43 Fair use as a offense, a defense and right. 14:23 The three criteria for fair use. 17:40 A clip for "This Film is Not Yet Rated." Back and forth with the director over orgasm length. 23:05 Showing fair use of a song, 'Expelled," and "Imagine." 24:40 Proving that outside music is "essential" to the work. 27:02 The cinematic language of words and images. 28:32 The protection afforded to filmmakers who act like journalists--dealing with Chevron. 35:56 The same set of laws for non-fiction print and documentary. 39:05 "White Trash," clip featuring "Castaway." 40:58 Errors and Omissions Insurance. 46:02 The power to talk down claims. 47:52 Keeping up with Michael. 49:13 The Daily Dig Down.

Recoding Innovation – How “Free” Ideals influence Science, Art and Culture

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 15:18:39 +0000

Documentary short on the link between the free culture and free software movements, featuring Lawrence Lessig (Harvard / Creative Commons), Vincent Moon (Petite Planetes), Richard Stallman (Free Software Foundation), and Mitchell Baker (Mozilla). The rise of open-source software development illustrates the relationship between computing innovation and ethical principles. The ethical concerns held by a community of software developers lead to innovation in open source licensing and copyright agreements (Kelty, 2008). A community of developers came to believe that software code should be free and widely shared, rather than proprietary. What began as a method to create better software took on moral dimensions as supporters adopted arguments for freedom and autonomy. These ethics percolated until a large community of programmers believed that sharing code was the right thing to do -- both ethically and practically. This ethic of openness lead developers to experiment with ways to license their work for sharing under the existing U.S. copyright regime. The result was a variety of creative commons licenses: "hacks" of copyright law that became innovations in their own right. These novel licenses allowed the open source movement to grow and prosper, and have spread beyond software to use in such diverse media distribution as book publishing and photo sharing. Once a fringe belief, open source ethics are slowly becoming institutionalized, and are now taught as good practice in diverse design labs and computer science classrooms. Film by UCLA Remap

Controlling the Web

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:45:51 +0000

In January 2012, two controversial pieces of legislation were making their way through the US Congress. SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, and PIPA, the Protect Intellectual Property Act, were meant to crack down on the illegal sharing of digital media. The bills were drafted on request of the content industry, Hollywood studios and major record labels. The online community rose up against the US government to speak out against SOPA, and the anti-online piracy bill was effectively killed off after the largest online protest in US history. But it was only one win in a long battle between US authorities and online users over internet regulation. SOPA and PIPA were just the latest in a long line of anti-piracy legislation US politicians have passed since the 1990s. "One of the things we are seeing which is a by-product of the digital age is, frankly, it's much easier to steal and to profit from the hard work of others," says Michael O'Leary, the executive vice-president for global policy at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The US government says it must be able to fight against piracy and cyber attacks. And that means imposing more restrictions online. But proposed legislation could seriously curb freedom of speech and privacy, threatening the internet as we know it. Can and should the internet be controlled? Who gets that power? How far will the US government go to gain power over the web? And will this mean the end of a free and global internet? Fault Lines looks at the fight for control of the web, life in the digital age and the threat to cyber freedom, asking if US authorities are increasingly trying to regulate user freedoms in the name of national and economic security.

Steal This Film – Part II (HD, 720p)

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:20:20 +0000

Steal This Film is a film series documenting the movement against intellectual property. Part 2 draws parallels between the impact of the printing press and the internet in terms of making information accessible beyond a privileged group or "controllers". The argument is made that the decentralised nature of the internet makes the enforcement of conventional copyright impossible. Adding to this the internet turns consumers into producers, by way of user generated content, leading to the sharing, mashup and creation of content not motivated by financial gains. This has fundamental implications for market-based media companies. The documentary asks "How will society change" and states "This is the Future - And it has nothing to do with your bank balance". Subtitles available: English, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Danish, French, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean Download HD Torrent

Steal This Film – Part 1

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:05:08 +0000

Steal This Film is a film series documenting the movement against intellectual property. Part One, shot in Sweden and released in August 2006, combines accounts from prominent players in the Swedish piracy culture (The Pirate Bay, Piratbyrån, and the Pirate Party) with found material, propaganda-like slogans and Vox Pops.

Everything is a Remix Part 1

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:48:59 +0000

RiP: A Remix Manifesto

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 11:07:56 +0000

In RiP: A remix manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers.The film's central protagonist is Girl Talk, a mash-up musician topping the charts with his sample-based songs. But is Girl Talk a paragon of people power or the Pied Piper of piracy? Creative Commons founder, Lawrence Lessig, Brazil's Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil and pop culture critic Cory Doctorow are also along for the ride.