Film rights and libel clearance. Pre-Publication & Pre-broadcast review, Clearance Review Including Opinion Letters, Rights Licensing
Producing a creative work, whether it is a feature film, a commercial, or a theatre play involves all sorts of challenges, for example relating to libel, defamation, and intellectual property. To prevent unwanted surprises, it is important to assess these risks beforehand. We can make that assessment.
Local and International Collaborations
We work together with various external partners with specific skill sets and expertise to provide the most efficient reporting. These partners include specialists in the field of U.S. trademark law, Dutch experts in the field of collective rights of visual creators, and experts in the field of music sync licensing. With these experts, we are able to quickly identify potential clearance issues, assess the need for further clearances, and if necessary, obtain the required permission from the relevant rightsholders.
We use our knowledge of media law, including defamation, privacy, newsgathering, copyright, and related rights, to provide our clients with pre-publication and pre-broadcast reviews of productions and projects across all mediums and formats, including podcasts, documentaries, feature films, series, broadcasts, theatre, opera, and traditional media publications.
We review clients’ projects for clearance issues and not only provide them with a fair use opinion letter as required for insurance purposes, such as E&O insurance, but also help clients navigate the best practices in content licensing.
Our assessment may include a script review and a title report with legal opinions from other jurisdictions, including US legal opinions and title reports.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
One-Stop Shop Clearence
We offer a one-stop shop for risk assessment that can also be used to apply for E&O insurance. This may include providing a script review, a title report with U.S. legal opinions, and a legal opinion on the chain of title.
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E&O insurance often requires a script review by an experienced media lawyer. We identify the possible risks of possible claims regarding issues such as:
Libel
Defamation
Intellectual property (copyright, trademark, etc.)
Portrait rights
Privacy
Criminal law
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E&O insurance requires that the producer has arranged all necessary rights and permissions for the territory concerned. This includes contracts/clearance for:
the underlying works (such as book adaptations, formats etc.)
creative contributions to the film (screenwriters, script coaches, directors , actors, etc.)
Persons appearing in the film (extras, etc.);
Music used, both composition/text and masters;
Archival material used (including permission of persons appearing therein).
In some cases, a legal opinion on the chain of title must be provided in which a media lawyer examines exactly to what extent the rights have been sufficiently cleared.
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For U.S. territories, a so-called title report and a legal opinion by a U.S. attorney on that report is required.
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Final conclusions and recommendations
Photo by Brooks Leibee on Unsplash
Preliminary Clearence Scan
We also provide a preliminary scan at the development stage so that a producer can make an informed decision about which rights must be cleared and/or which risks must be mitigated.
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We identify the possible risks of possible claims regarding issues such as:
Libel
Defamation
Intellectual property (copyright, trademark, etc.)
Portrait rights
Privacy
Criminal law
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We make a preliminary scan of the contracts and other documents required for a valid chain of title. with this list of required documentation, you can prevent being confronted with last-minute repairs and request to sign deeds of transfers that are missing from the chain, etc.
We offer two specific products: a One Stop Shop for the whole clearence and a Preliminary Clearence Scan.
Clearence Team
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Gaico Bos
ATTORNEY MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT
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Marike Ringers
CLEARANCE FINE ARTS AND DESIGN
Marike is a lawyer specializing in copyright law who loves art. She has had vast experience providing legal services to movie producers, visual artists, photographers, architects, designers, and illustrators for over ten years. As a result, Marike has extensive knowledge of the clearance of art and design.
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Erik Verwey
CLEARENCE MUSIC
Erik is an experienced media and entertainment lawyer with foucs on music law. He has worked in the legal profession and collective management orgasnities and has worked as a lawyer for a Dutch film producer and has hands-on experience with rights clearence.