Understanding Movie Copyrights

Outdoor movie events are all about fun; getting together with family and friends in the community and enjoying a new film or an old favorite. If you are the one planning the event, though, you have the responsibility of making sure your event complies with movie copyright law. If you have never put on a movie event before, you might not understand exactly what these rules mean and whether or not your event must be licensed as a public performance. This quick guide will give you a basic understanding of movie copyrights and assist you in determining if one is needed for your event.

When you purchase or rent a movie, it affords you the right to view the movie in your own home with close friends or family. What you do not have the right to do is host a public screening of the movie. Copyright laws are in place to protect those involved in the production of films (movie producers, script writers and others) since these professionals receive royalty fees when their work is sold, performed and used.

Who needs a public performance license? You might be surprised at the many types of individuals and entities required to obtain a public performance license before hosting a movie screening. Government run agencies like parks and recreation departments, nonprofits, churches, schools and universities, individuals and businesses are all required to obtain a public performance license prior to hosting a public outdoor movie or other movie event.

What types of events need public performance licenses? You might assume that only events that charge admission must secure a public performance license; but any event, whether admission is charged or not, must comply with copyright laws. There is an exception for movies used in a classroom setting, but the requirements for this exception are very specific and must be strictly adhered to. The movie screening must take place in a classroom setting with the teacher and only enrolled students present, and the movie must relate to the core areas that are currently being studied. The movie must also be a legitimate copy of the film.

Each time you view a DVD you see the FBI warning, but you may not pay much attention to it. This warning is about copyright laws. Many of the royalty fees paid to artists involved in producing movies come from licensing fees, and copyright law is meant to protect these artists and ensure they are fairly compensated for their work. The penalty for non-compliance includes possible jail time of up to five years, and a penalty of up to $250,000.

If you are planning an outdoor movie event, whether you are a business creating an event as part of your marketing strategy, a church hosting an event or anyone else planning a public movie screening; it is best to do your homework and determine if your event requires a public performance license. In most cases you will find that you do need one.

Paul B. Murray is the founder and owner of Southern Outdoor Cinema, LLC, the LARGEST producer of outdoor movie events in the United States for professional sports teams, movie studios, film festivals, marketing agencies, Fortune 500 Companies and cities. Using cutting edge outdoor cinema equipment paired with a proprietary movie event planning system, Southern Outdoor Cinema helps clients create highly successful and highly entertaining outdoor movie events. To learn more about Southern Outdoor Cinema, visit http://www.southernoutdoorcinema.com/

Copyright Registration: Why Wait?

Copyright registration is automatic; your work, whether it is a novel, a photograph, an architectural drawing, or any other eligible type of intellectual property, is automatically protected by a copyright. And official US Copyright Office registration costs $35.

So why would anyone ever want to pay for an official copyright registration? Let's take a closer look at the hidden costs involved in waiting until someone is infringing on your copyright before getting an official copyright registration from the US Copyright Office.

Copyright protection is automatic.

First, let's take a look at the automatic copyright protections that you're entitled to simply by fixing your work in a tangible medium (meaning that the work exists somewhere outside of your own imagination, either physically, digitally, or otherwise). According to the Copyright Office:

Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work.

Official copyright registration is, therefore, not a requirement for copyright protection.

Copyright registration, while not a legal requirement, provides other benefits to the copyright holder.

Among these benefits are:

Your contact information is kept on record. This means that anyone seeking to contact you with a licensing proposition or other financial arrangements will be easily able to do so by searching the Copyright Office's registration database.You'll need a registration in order to bring legal action against someone. You can do this at any time, of course, but keep in mind that while a $35 registration can take up to 9 months to be processed, a rush filing will cost $760.Registration provides courtroom incentives. If you register your copyright within three months of publication, it's possible that you could be awarded attorney fees in addition to damages and profits. And registration within five years of publication establishes prima facie evidence of the copyright's validity.

You might not be the type of person who could see themselves ever suing anyone. But would you feel the same way if you found out someone was benefiting financially from your hard work, without your permission? Would you rather spend $35 now and not need it, or wait until you do and have to spend $760 plus lawyer fees later? The choice is yours.

Sarah Kolb, http://www.clickandcopyright.com/

Since 2000, Click and Copyright has helped thousands of small business owners, independent entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and writers start new businesses, protect their intellectual property, and find new ways to market and promote their business and creative works.

Trademark Law In A Nutshell

Trademarks are words, slogans, sounds or symbols used by businesses to help people easily identify their goods. The Nike swoosh is a good example of a trademark, common to everyone. It helps identify the manufacturer's shoes from others. A trademark does not have to be made up of words or symbols; it can also come as a unique packaging or product shape that manufacturers use in their line of work. All these are protected by what is known as trademark law. Federal and state jurisdictions all protect against trademark infringement. Essentially, trademark law seeks to protect the intellectual property of an individual. Books, songs and even poems are subject to intellectual property law protection.

If anyone abuses a trademark or uses it without the consent of the owner, then they are liable to be sued for trademark infringement. However, in order for a piece of intellectual property to fall under the protective umbrella of trademark law, it has to be distinctive. It needs to be associated solely with the product it seeks to sell or identify. If it is a jingle, song or symbol, it must be easily identifiable to the common man. This simply means that a trademark must be solely associated with a particular product. If it can be associated with more than one product, then protecting it under the trademark law or intellectual property law will be hard.

These are the grounds under which many trademark infringement lawsuits either succeed or fail. Courts have noted that all trademarks must be arbitrary, fanciful, descriptive or suggestive so as to enjoy protection under trademark law. The Apple computer logo, which has no relation to computers, is a good example of an arbitrary trademark. This qualifies it for protection under trademark law.

Now that the specifics of trademark law have been covered, how can a person get protection for their trademarks? How can you qualify for protection under intellectual property law? There are two courses of action that a company should follow so as to ensure that a trademark is protected. The first course of action and perhaps the most effective is using trademark attorney Miami offices to help in registering a trademark in the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. Once a trademark has been registered with the Office, anyone who uses it without the explicit permission of the owner will be committing trademark infringement. Another way that a person can benefit from trademark law protection is by being the first person to use a trademark in the course of business. For example, if a stationery manufacturer has been using a pen as a logo of his business, and his products are identified by that logo, then through custom, that logo is his legal trademark. He enjoys legal ownership of the pen logo and no one else can use it without his express permission. The same applies to persons seeking the protection of intellectual property law. If they were the first to come up with it, then they have a right of ownership of the intellectual property.

Christian Jay Sanchelima is the author of this article on patents. Find more information about intellectual property law here