Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
Movie rights.
If a studio produced a movie in 1982, does it still own the rights in say 20 years? Is there a time limit on the rights to a movie? I'm asking this because I would like to do a reproduction or even a sequel. What would need to be done if the rights are still owned by the studio?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Movie rights.
Probably you could contact the writer(s) regarding the rights to a remake or sequel. Look it up on IMDB.com .
Re: Movie rights.
Copyright lasts for much longer than 20 years. Most works last 70 years beyond the death of the author. Works created by a corporation last eiher 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
In all likelihood, the studio owns the rights needed to do a remake or sequel. Generally, even if you obtain rights from the Writer (as Mr. Stone suggests), you'd need to clear things with the original studio, distributor, etc.
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