Other rights issues

When the late movie star James Stewart declared he was no longer a studio "contract"
employee, he started the trend towards independent film artists negotiating terms with
producers such as an almighty Universal or some such studio. The filmmaker's production
process became more flexible, and more complicated. Creative individuals asserted rights
and demanded "residuals," "deferred payments" and other forms of participatory ownership.
In addition, many new theories of "artistic rights" and "cooperative ownership" of films became
a part of the bargaining process of filmmaking. Today's filmmaker must deal with evolving rules such as:

-- employment rules and regulations, including strict state guidelines under the Business and Professional Codes as to allowable forms of hiring and payment;

-- guild regulations for Screen Actor's Guild members (SAG), Writers' Guild members (WGA), and other associations of creative individuals, film artisans and technical personnel.

Today's film production also must successfully navigate new areas of concerns:

-- rules regarding defamation, libel and slander: The right to first amendment expression is not unlimited.

-- rights of privacy: filmmakers have limits to their subject matter. Can you make a film from a court transcript about a doctor who was accused and convicted of the murder of his family? It depends.

-- rights of publicity: can you make a movie using the likeness of a dead star? Consider that Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley (or at least their estates) have made more income since their passing, then when these icons of our imagination were alive.

-- "droits de moral" ("moral rights"): American films never gave any artistic ownership rights to visual artists or to players. However, European traditions give players some creative rights over their characterizations and consider visual artists creative artists with full control over their paintings or photographs. Where do you draw the line?

-- trademarks and Lanham Act issues of consumer confusion. While titles may not be protected by copyright, trademarks are protectible "words." You can't use a similar title that would "mislead" the public.

Today's professional filmmaker must know and follow the rules that apply to media production to achieve a successful commercial release.