www cmsimpact orgfairusebestpracticesdocumentary FAIR USE IN DOCUMENTARY FILM
www. cmsimpact. org/fair-use/best-practices/documentary
FAIR USE IN DOCUMENTARY FILM An Introduction to the Documentary Filmmaker’s Statement of Best Practices In Fair Use
Fair Use and Copyright Remix Culture Video
• What is copyright? What is Copyright? • Why does it exist?
COPYRIGHT • Provides incentives for people to create culture • Gives creators some control over their work • But also puts some limits on that control
• What would happen if there were no such thing as copyright? • What would happen if there were no limits to copyright?
No protection for creators’ work stops creativity BUT Too much protection also stifles new makers’ creativity
Copyright law has built in several ways to maintain BALANCE: • Limitations on the amount of time something can be copyrighted • Special exemptions (these include for educators, librarians, public broadcasting, the blind, and other special cases) • Fair Use
FAIR USE Section of copyright law that protects the rights of creators who want to incorporate other people’s copyrighted material into their work.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? • Protects Freedom of Speech • Safety valve prevents censorship Whythat is Fair Use Important? • It gives artists the right to critique or build on existing culture • Culture only grows where we are allowed to repurpose other people’s work
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN TO APPLY FAIR USE? Copyright laws asks two questions: • Did the unlicensed use “transform” the copyrighted material by using it for a different purpose? • Was the amount and nature of material taken appropriate?
BEST PRACTICES • Best Practices = what people practicing in the field think is fair use • Filmmakers are copyright owners and creators and are best suited to figure out what is fair use in the field
Category 1: Using copyrighted material as the object of a social, political or cultural critique From Outfoxed
Category 2: Using copyrighted material of popular culture to illustrate an argument or point From Refrigerator Mothers
Category 3: Capturing copyrighted material in the process of filming something else (Incidental Use) From The New Americans
Category 4: Using copyrighted material in a historical sequence From Karl Rove: The Architect
WHENEVER POSSIBLE YOU SHOULD: • Attribute where the clip came from (either on screen or in the credits) • Try to take material from a range of sources, not just one source • Make sure you’re only using as much as is absolutely necessary to make your point
What Fair Use is NOT Elvis Presley Enters. , Inc. v. Passport Video, 2003
FAIR USE AND COPYRIGHT Remix Culture Video
www. cmsimpact. org/fair-use/best-practices/documentary
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