Who owns rights

D

derek smith

If you are the writer and director of a short film, and have used a Production Company, what is meant by the following

The completed drama is owned by the producer and the underlying rights to the material are owned by the writer.


Reason being, if the short film is successful, and a Series is commissioned...Will I own rights to the Series, or the Producer / Production Company???
 
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You will want to seek legal advice and get proper agreements in place and not use the agreements provided by the prod co. You are hiring them as a service and even if that service includes Producer(s) you would want to retain rights and give yourself a Producer title, as that is what you are doing in essence by even hiring this company.

A Producer can sometimes take percentage points but not usually when you are hiring them and paying them for their services rendered.

I'm sure someone else has better advice than me, maybe someone that has done this. But you need to do it right especially if they are asking you to sign things.
 
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No. It is up to YOU, that's why you need to get it in writing.

Why in the world would you let the prod co. own it? Did you hire them, or did they hire you?
 
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indietalk said:
No. It is up to YOU, that's why you need to get it in writing.

Why in the world would you let the prod co. own it? Did you hire them, or did they hire you?
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I haven't let anyone did anything......there's a drama competition ran by one of the biggest channels in Ireland, and its about pairing up writers, with Producers to make a 20minute drama.....they released a list of Q&A's, and the question 'who owns the rights', had the answer below, what I mentioned in my first comment.....which is why im seeking advice on here, if anyone has came across this or can interrupt what it means, before I take up a Producer on an offer to help produce my script
 
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With competitions it's always different. They usually want certain rights to be able to use your film to promote the competition. So say you won the challenge. They could use clips of your film to promote the next year w/o you suing them. Usually that's what it is. But read up on it.

Linkage?
 
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The production company will hold the copyright to the script and completed drama.

This means that THEY do not own it, you do.

When you submit your drama proposal you will need a writer, a producer and a production company in place.

The production company is not them.

Storyland is for professional producers working in the television and film industry on the island of Ireland. It’s not open to members of the public so submissions must be through tax compliant production companies.

The submission is through a production company, and that production company will own the product as far as they are concerned. If you have side arrangements that is up to you.
 
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indietalk said:
The production company will hold the copyright to the script and completed drama.

This means that THEY do not own it, you do.

When you submit your drama proposal you will need a writer, a producer and a production company in place.

The production company is not them.

Storyland is for professional producers working in the television and film industry on the island of Ireland. It’s not open to members of the public so submissions must be through tax compliant production companies.

The submission is through a production company, and that production company will own the product as far as they are concerned. If you have side arrangements that is up to you.
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Much appreciate taken the time out to check the site and advise....thank you
 
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The completed drama is owned by the producer and the underlying rights to the material are owned by the writer.
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if the short film is successful, and a Series is commissioned...Will I own rights to the Series, or the Producer / Production Company???
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Once again, seek legal advice.

It'll come down to definitions. What are the definitions as defined by the contract and what are set by the law... on top of that, it'll also depend on what hasn't yet been defined. "The completed drama", "the producer", "underlying rights", "the material", "the writer". Take a rather silly example, but it can happen: If "the writer" is defined by the author of the legal document, you may fall victim to being legally swindled and be incorrectly interpreting that you would be the author and that you would own the underlying rights.

If you care about the material, seek real legal advice.
 
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derek smith said:
If you are the writer and director of a short film, and have used a Production Company, what is meant by the following

The completed drama is owned by the producer and the underlying rights to the material are owned by the writer.


Reason being, if the short film is successful, and a Series is commissioned...Will I own rights to the Series, or the Producer / Production Company???
Click to expand...
In America at least, a movie is a joint work with creative input from lots of people such as writer, director, actors, set designers, director of photography, etc. You should always get EVERYONE (including crew) to sign release forms that address copyrights.
There's more than one way to word a contract. There are specific "crew releases" and "actor releases".
Having said that, name one short that made any kind of money? I've never seen a short sold in any video store, except for the rare compilation release of several shorts that hardly sells any copies.
 
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In Ireland, copywrite law is subject to European Union Directive 2001/29/EC – "Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society", you can find the text at Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, link below. I tried reading it and finally had to cool off my tired and rattled brain by drinking some Hennessy Pure White and licking a Cohiba (I quit smoking). Irish copywrite laws are as screwed up as a Mongolian shot record (old Air Force term), and I doubt a battery of solicitors could understand it. I would just call or write the promoters and ask them point blank. If they can't explain it using small words, then I'd worry.


http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2000/act/28/enacted/en/html
 
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derek smith said:
Reason being, if the short film is successful, and a Series is commissioned...Will I own rights to the Series, or the Producer / Production Company???
Click to expand...

That depends on the details of the contract between the copyright holders and whoever is commissioning the series (RTE presumably). Most likely the rights to the series would end up being some sort of split between an experienced commercial producer/production company and RTE, with you (the writer) entitled to some amount of royalty payments. However, there are a wide range of potential variations, RTE may well want complete control of all the rights for example.

If you are thinking of entering, to stand any chance of getting anywhere you will need to get an experienced commercial producer/production company on board. As others have effectively said, if/when you've got an experienced commercial producer interested, you MUST consult a lawyer before making any legally binding agreement with them!

G
 
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