Posted by PTravel on 01/31/62 11:30

"Ted Langdell" <newsgroups@tedlangdell.com> wrote in message
news:0001HW.BF8886550034575DF02845B0@news.sf.sbcglobal.net...
> [[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
> the 'To' and 'Newsgroups' headers for details. ]]
>
> Regarding your situation:
>
> You also need to be able to make sure the music that exists in the shows
> can
> be used.
>
> If there are no files that accompany the tapes that would enable you to
> determine what the terms were for each piece of music, you'll need to
> identify who holds the copyright for the music and the performance of it,
> and
> obtain the right to use BOTH, which can be separate things.
>
> For example, lets say you have a music-based show from 1962 in which a
> famous
> singer appears and sings his or her latest song.
>
> Perhaps the appearance was covered by a release the singer signed with the
> production company, but the performance was lip-synced to the recording
> the
> singer was there to promote.
>
> You'd have to make sure you could find the release the singer signed, any
> paperwork for the song itself and paperwork for the performance OF THE
> RECORDING that was played back during the show.

Sorry, but this is all wrong.

There are two copyrights that are of concern:

1. The copyright to underlying work, i.e. the music in the case of your
example.
2. The copyright to recording of the underlying work.

There is no such thing as a copyright in a performance.

In your singer example, there rights of publicity, that have nothing to do
with copyright, that would also be of concern.

>
> If there's paperwork available from the guy you're dealing with to cover
> this
> kind of thing, you'll be able to see whether you are cleared to use the
> singer's image, the song and the recorded performance without further ado
> involving the singer, the song's copyright holder, or the record company
> that
> recorded the singer.
>
> If not, expect to have to inquire with all three to see if they have
> copies
> of any documents regarding the appearance. Absent any, expect to have to
> negotiate something fresh to cover your new use of the three things.
>
> There are a number of documentaries, for example, that can't be shown or
> marketed as DVDs today, because the rights to use musical or visual
> elements
> were limited in some way when the show was originally produced, and the
> owners of those elements want too much money or simply won't agree to
> allow
> the elements to be used today.
>
> You have to know about those pitfalls BEFORE you agree to any license
> terms,
> so you don't agree to pay money for something you can't ever profit from
> because ONE element can't be cleared.
>
> Try using Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, and you'll have to
> pay his estate for the privilege.
>
> You also should have the person granting the show license to you agree to
> hold you and anyone involved in your end of the deal harmless--to pay your
> legal bills and to defend you and your duplicator, marketing co., etc.--if
> someone sues you over your use of some element of the production.
>
> Ted
>
> On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 20:09:35 -0700, Richard Crowley wrote
> (in article <din7hf$jl9$1@news01.intel.com>):
>
>> "Drake" wrote ...
>>> Bob Cap wrote:
>>>> "Drake" wrote ...
>>>>> Someone that I know owns the tape library of an old show that no
>>>>> longer
>>>>> is shown on television, and he is offering to license the tapes to me.
>>>>> I'm sure that people would buy these tapes, but the problem is that I
>>>>> don't have any production equipment. Is there a way that I can still
>>>>> make money from the tape library? Thanks.
>>>>
>>>> Does he own the copyright or just has the tapes?
>>>>
>>> He was the owner of the show, so I guess that would mean that he owns
>>> the
>>> copyright, correct?
>>
>> "owner of the show" doesn't really mean anything definitive.
>> Either he holds the legal copyright ("right to copy") or he doesn't.
>> Furthermore there may also be contractual agreements with
>> others (like the actors or even the sponsors of older TV shows)
>> for a portion of any money made off the show ("residuals", etc.)
>>
>>>> If he owns the copyright and makes a license agreement with you for
>>>> mechanical duplication and sales you can have them duplicated or copied
>>>> to DVD and sell them.
>>>>
>>> About how much does it usually for someone to engage in a license
>>> agreement?
>>
>> Whatever the market will bear. It ranges between free and
>> millions of dollars. There is no "about how much".
>>
>> You REALLY need to contact legal counsel who specializes
>> in this kind of agreement. This is not an area for amateurs if
>> any kind of money is involved. Never take legal advice from
>> strangers on the internet.
>>
>> If this is a show that used to be on commercial TV and it is
>> young enough to have been produced on videotape, you might
>> contact TVland or one of those satellite channels that runs old
>> TV shows. If you got some air time there, a release of a DVD
>> set would be even more profitable.
>>
>> This assumes that "tapes of the show" means the masters or
>> professional release copies and not just something somebody
>> recorded off the air.
>>
>>
>
>

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