Saturday's Blog Archive

Thanks to Brad for helping out! I know this is something new, and we will be looking to have more of these. To view the archive, go to the comments section of this entry.

If someone has a topic they would like to see discussed that has to do with entertainment, suggest it and we will see who would be available in LA/New York to discuss the topic.

Saturday's Blog

This is from our guest for Saturday's blog. Please try and keep questions "general" topic regarding producing, copyright info, etc. Remember, Brad cannot give legal advice about a specific issue. In addition, please don't pitch your projects here. You can contact us privately, but the blog is intended to be for everyone's enjoyment and education. Thanks!


Welcome everyone! Let me first say that I am honored to be among you today and I apologize ahead of time for my slow typing and possible misspelled words. This live blog is simply a brief overview and introduction into some basic issues concerning filmmaking and intellectual property. It is not intended as legal advice but rather an overview for educational purposes. Before I take any questions, let me get into the substance of our blog.

So why is having your intellectual property protected by U.S. Copyright laws important? Well for starters, it is how you create a tangible asset in order to be compensated for the expression of your ideas. Copyright law creates the incentive to conceive and distribute works by protecting you from the unauthorized use of your material by others. From a writers viewpoint, we all want to sell that award winning screenplay and protecting it under copyright law is the first step.

Second, as a producer, my process in making a film begins with the material, the screenplay. In order to maximize the profits for my investors and protect their interests, a chain of title (ownership) is established to avoid any potential infringement liability, which could cause unnecessary delays in the distribution of the film and other legal damages. The copyright proves ownership of the expression of the ideas encompassed in the screenplay, as well as the final audio-visual work of the film once completed.

There are two types of U.S. Copyrights available, a "Common Law Copyright" and a "Statutory Copyright". The difference between the two is how they are obtained and the scope of damages the holder is entitled to recover in a copyright infringement case. There is no such thing as an international copyright but protection does exist.

Thus as a writer, you want to exercise your legal rights under copyright law to protect your interests and have a tangible asset to negotiate with. As a producer, you must maximize the profit for your investors by avoiding any legal disputes and distribution delays by properly securing the ownership rights of the screenplay from the copyright holder.

Now any questions on Copyrights, producing a film or whatever, I am open.

Live Blog

On Sat. August 26, Brad Thornton will be giving a live blog dealing with intellectual properties/copyright law from Los Angeles.

The blog starts at 9AM to 10AM LA time, which is 8PM to 9PM UAE time. All are invited to check in and ask questions about this, or producing indie films as well. We will be doing these live blogs from time to time dealing with different issues in the entertainment business, as well as bringing seminars here starting in the fall.

Enjoy!

Brad Thornton

Brad's legal practice specialized in advising and counseling clients within the entertainment industry on motion picture production and distribution, contractual matters, copyright and other intellectual property rights, rights of publicity and privacy, employment law, business entity formation and maintenance, and litigation matters. He became a partner at a prestigious entertainment law firm in Beverly Hills, and is a member of the State Bar of California.

He has also studied the craft of acting and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. His life long passion is martial arts, and he holds a black belt title in multiple disciplines. This talent landed him a lead role in the action film, Kickboxer 4. It was then that Brad realized that he wanted to be involved with acting and producing.

Recently he has landed acting roles in “Shakespeare’s Richard III” and the indie pic, “The Sensei” where he was also co-producer. He continues to work with an assortment of other production companies as an actor and producer while continuing to develop his own production projects. Brad lives in Los Angeles.

Copyright Info

As we are going to be doing some talks about copyright issues, this may be of interest.

If you are just starting out and write music, poems, stories, screenplays, etc., at some point in time, you might want to think about protecting your work. It may not seem like a big issue, but you certainly would not want to see your work copied, then becoming successful, with someone else's name attached to it!

There is no such thing as an "International copyright," that will automatically protect an author's writings throughout the world.

Having said that, there is some good info on the US copyright website, which also lists info for different countries, try this link: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl100.html

In addition, you can always register something you write online with the WGA, Writer's Guild of America at: http://www.wga.org/ you do not have to be a member or in the States to do this and it is a nominal fee. On the right hand side of the page it says, "register your script." In reality, you can register ANY form of intellectual property at WGA.

The WGA registration gives you a receipt that can be printed immediately, so that there is a record of the project recorded there. This would be helpful in establishing a chain of ownership based on dates if you needed it. In the event that you showed someone your work and they used your project after the date which is listed from the WGA, it helps create a paper trail concerning dates and ownership.