I mean like are Coke, Mercedes, and Nike gonna sue me because thier symbols landed in my film? And if it is already in my film, then what? Can I write them a letter and beg for mercy?
Should I worry about company advertisements that made it in my film?
- Thread starter Conroy Films
- Start date
I don't think so; it's free product placement/advertising for them, so I don't see why they would care.
clearance is needed
First you need to be specific about where your film is going. Are you trying to sell this film? Are you doing the festival circuit? Or are you just showing it privately? Is your film narrative? Or is it documentary?
Let's start with the most strict scenario: if you're planning on selling your narrative film or allowing your film to generate a profit for someone, then you need to obtain written clearance for all the logos that appear in your film. You also need to clear people's faces, too -- as in have them sign photo releases -- but hopefully that's obvious and you already did get the talent releases. For logos appearing in your film, the buyer (ie the distributor) is going to demand that you provide documented product clearance. This is part of the "deliverables." That's just a fancy word for what you'll give the distributor: your completed film, the alternate formats for visuals and audio, and all the paperwork.
In summary, you do need clearance if you're selling your film. If you don't get clearance, you will need to blur out all the logos. Depending on how you shot the film and how your post-production work flow is set up, this may not be too difficult to do. You can use motion tracking and so forth.
Would those big companies ever go after you? They might.... just to make an example out of you. In general, big companies don't litigate unless there is big money involved. So if your film is a useless flop, many companies won't care, especially if you're not showing the product in a "bad light" in the first place. However, if your film gets popular, you could run in to a nasty predicament down the road.
To get PAID by these big companies for product placements, you'd need to first make sure your film depicts their brands in a favorable light. (This is a figurative term, not a cinematic term.)
You can still get clearance after the fact, but it's not a guarantee at this point.
And let me just state for the record that none of what I'm saying is legal advice. You have to consult a qualified attorney on matters like this.
Shanked
First you need to be specific about where your film is going. Are you trying to sell this film? Are you doing the festival circuit? Or are you just showing it privately? Is your film narrative? Or is it documentary?
Let's start with the most strict scenario: if you're planning on selling your narrative film or allowing your film to generate a profit for someone, then you need to obtain written clearance for all the logos that appear in your film. You also need to clear people's faces, too -- as in have them sign photo releases -- but hopefully that's obvious and you already did get the talent releases. For logos appearing in your film, the buyer (ie the distributor) is going to demand that you provide documented product clearance. This is part of the "deliverables." That's just a fancy word for what you'll give the distributor: your completed film, the alternate formats for visuals and audio, and all the paperwork.
In summary, you do need clearance if you're selling your film. If you don't get clearance, you will need to blur out all the logos. Depending on how you shot the film and how your post-production work flow is set up, this may not be too difficult to do. You can use motion tracking and so forth.
Would those big companies ever go after you? They might.... just to make an example out of you. In general, big companies don't litigate unless there is big money involved. So if your film is a useless flop, many companies won't care, especially if you're not showing the product in a "bad light" in the first place. However, if your film gets popular, you could run in to a nasty predicament down the road.
To get PAID by these big companies for product placements, you'd need to first make sure your film depicts their brands in a favorable light. (This is a figurative term, not a cinematic term.)
You can still get clearance after the fact, but it's not a guarantee at this point.
And let me just state for the record that none of what I'm saying is legal advice. You have to consult a qualified attorney on matters like this.
Shanked
Sorry Steve in MD but companies do not see this as free
advertising or product placement. They see it as trademark
or copyright infringement.
Crazy, isn’t it? They will pay Eon to feature Bond drinking a
Coke but will stop an independent film from having the Coke
logo in the background.
There is almost no change that any company will sue, but
distributors will not take the chance. And without distribution
a film is quite limited.
Shanked is correct. It really depends on what happens with the
film. A self distributed film that sells 100 copies will unlikely ever
come to the attention of the companies. And the very worse
thing that they can do is stop a producer from selling the movie.
Cross that bridge when you get to it, Conroy. For now, sleep easy.
F the world!
F the world!
You'll hear from Nike first. Coke and Mercedes are likely to let it slide, maybe.
Do you have enough in your budget to pay a retainer for an attorney?
I'm not an attorney and I don't even play one on TV, but this is likely what an attorney will tell you.
Do you have enough in your budget to pay a retainer for an attorney?
I'm not an attorney and I don't even play one on TV, but this is likely what an attorney will tell you.
You'll also love this. My truck was the main vehicle used in a lot of scenes. My real license plate is JUS DOIT . I think it would be great advertising for my movie to have them sue me. For what? I'm broke from making it already. All kidding a side, I'm seeing what I can do to edit the blatant out.
Another good one, that a stickler actor brought up, was this. We had two vans doing an exchange of illegal immigrants in the desert, both with PA license plates. I wrote the script too. So I told her they were both stolen. I would rather see if my audience noticed it.
Another good one, that a stickler actor brought up, was this. We had two vans doing an exchange of illegal immigrants in the desert, both with PA license plates. I wrote the script too. So I told her they were both stolen. I would rather see if my audience noticed it.
Oh, it's gonna sell way more than 100. But like cracker said, I'll blow up that bridge when I get to it. Working on all the sound levels now. If you didn't see the website yet, chack it out, or not. I'm just stoked how it has come out. Check out the controversial website name. www.olivertwisted.xxx It's totally not that kind of film, just a little Twisted. But no one could remember www.oliver-twisted.com because of the dash in between. Of course bought .org, .us, .mobi
Thanks for comments through this storm. I think it's getting brighter out.
Thanks for comments through this storm. I think it's getting brighter out.
Is your film a feature? At any rate, I'd suggest you'd keep it all on the hush-hush side as far as the internet goes until its being sold. Nike, for instance, has a couple floors of attorneys that don't anything but scour the net for copyright infringements. Bragging about it in a forum like this will Google them right to your door!
Once a company knows about a copyright infringement, they've no choice but to stop you. If they knowing let it slide for you, they'll find it used against them in other infringement cases. Lawsuit judgments stay on your record for a long time. While you may not have to pay, you'll find it difficult to get financing (either for your film or yourself), a bond, or even a job.
Either way, good luck.
Once a company knows about a copyright infringement, they've no choice but to stop you. If they knowing let it slide for you, they'll find it used against them in other infringement cases. Lawsuit judgments stay on your record for a long time. While you may not have to pay, you'll find it difficult to get financing (either for your film or yourself), a bond, or even a job.
Either way, good luck.
Been meaning to ask. How do you delete a whole post? Or could you contact them beforehand and admit your filming mistake? anonymously of course. R
just blur anything that might cause you grief... these "infringement" laws are ridiculous, since these are everyday items used by normal people, but hey, it's the law... . the great thing about blurring or obscuring say, a coke or pepsi can, is that people still know it's a pepsi can because they're not stupid Yet, this still prevents any lawsuit against you.
Copyright includes both lyrics and the melody, so that would be problematic, yes.
If you do the humming a little different, I think you get away with it.
No, don't contact them unless you're planning to pay to use their products. You should be able to go back and rewrite or delete any posts.
Oh, and attorneys for the record labels are the most brutal of all. When it comes to using recorded music there are two simple rules: 1. Nope, 2. You can't afford it.
Good luck.