Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Currently I am a film student working on the preproduction process of my Senior Project, an adaptation of two short stories by the same author combined into one short film.

My teachers are trying to have me avoid securing the rights to theses stories, since I'm putting my own twist on them, and it's not intended to make a profit or mass commercial consumption.

However, if this film was made, and distributed at smaller venues, where I would see none of the profits from ticket sales, would it be legally possible to make this movie w/o the rights or expressed written permission from the owner of the copyrights?

I don't want to make a film that I'm not allowed to display.


Asked on 2/11/10, 1:53 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gordon Firemark Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark

I think the advice you're getting from your teachers is irresponsible, and just plain wrong. Legally, you MUST obtain permission before adapting stories into a film unless the stories are already in the public domain.

You're right to be concerned about not being able to exhibit or exploit your film, if the author finds out about it, and you haven't cleared the rights. It's sometimes possible to clear rights after the fact, but in such cases it's FAR more costly.

Copyright law doesn't care much whether you make money from your infringement. If you make an unauthorized copy or derivative work, you're infringing. In fact, the law contains rather severe penalties for infringement, regardless of the plaintiff's actual damages.

Get the permission. Have a lawyer draw up an appropriate agreement, and do things right. Start now doing things by the book, it'll serve you well... this IS part of your education about the film business.

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Answered on 2/17/10, 11:06 pm


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