Clearance for a Magazine?

[BigScaryRobot]

Hey all,

I'm new to the forum and have a legal question. My partner and I are wrapping up production on a short film. In the film, we show a Playboy magazine (a reprint of the first edition) in one scene for about 15 seconds. It just now occurred to us that we probably need to get some sort of release from Playboy, as we are going to attempt to show the film at festivals. I was just going to write them a nice "We're newbie filmmakers, please don't sue us" letter, but I'm wondering if there's a more effective avenue.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Blade_Jones]

Is it just set decoration or is it used in the scene? Referred to by the actors?

In the movie "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" they used a slip n slide, and even used it incorrectly without water and the actor got all scraped up. Wham-O sued Paramount Pictures and lost. That was a victory for ALL filmmakers like yourself.

The flip side is that Playboy could file a groundless lawsuit and you would not be able to recoup your legal fees even if you won.

I would never ask for permission. It just gives them the heads up.

One option is to digitally cover it up with Adobe After Effects. I've done a lot of that type of work and it's not difficult to do if it's far enough in the background. http://www.insaneasound.com/motiongraphics.htm