QUESTION
Does the production studio own the movie rights for a movie I created?
Asked on Nov 02nd, 2013 on Entertainment Law - Nebraska
More details to this question:
I am an independent film maker. I volunteer my time working with a production studio. There are no payments for work. I just finished directing a movie that I wrote. The company didn't give me anything to make the movie at all. There were no contracts signed, saying that I gave them the rights for that movie. The company just helped produce the movie and let me use their settings and core actors. I would like to distribute the movie myself and send it to theaters and festivals, upon completion. Since I wrote the screenplay and created the movie, wouldn't I have sole rights to that film? The only verbal agreement was, that it was my movie, from the owners of the company. The only thing that I signed was a contract about being a part of the company, that I was forced to sign. Forced meaning that if I don't sign it, I wouldn't be able to make the movie. It wasn't a legally binding contract at all, just pertaining to their rules and regulations. It did say that they own every movie, made within the company. I'm not sure if that still classifies, since there was no legal contract saying they own this certain movie. Thank you for any of your help. I know all the laws are different in each state, and I'm having trouble finding the laws.
4 ANSWERS
The information that your provided is extremely contradictory and problematic. Copyright law would place the ownership of any new copyrightable material ( assuming what you created is copyrightable) with the actual creator. However, under the work for hire doctrine, you can immediately assign all rights of copyright to another party by agreement, which it sounds like document in question. If so, that document would be a valid contract where the company did provide valid consideration by providing you with actors and equipment that they were not previously legally required to provide for you in exchange for that promise to assign them the rights. It would be best to discuss this with a law firm which deals in intellectual property and contract issues, such as my own, which offers free consultations.
Answered on Nov 19th, 2013 at 5:39 PM
Susan Marie Basko
I think you should show the exact contract to a lawyer and discuss the verbal agreements. On one hand, it sounds like an employment contract where your word product is owned by the company. On the other hand, you are not actually employed by the company. But you will need a lawyer to help you hash that out. Also, if you signed a contract with the company, it is most likely legally binding. What it actually pertains to or covers is another question. To me, just on the facts you have stated, it sounds like you and the film company should share ownership of the film. To move ahead with distributing the film, you absolutely must get a binding, well-written agreement with the film company on who has the rights to do what, and who has the rights to any financial proceeds or non-financial awards.
Answered on Nov 18th, 2013 at 9:19 PM
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Ownership would be governed by the contract. I would recommend getting an attorney to review the contract and advise you of your rights.
Answered on Nov 18th, 2013 at 9:18 PM
As you now know, never make a movie until the business side is taken care of. If you signed an agreement saying that the company owns every movie made within the company, you probably transferred most of your rights to the company. A rights transfer must be in writing to be binding. In exchange for those rights, you had access to actors, sets, and a certain amount of production assistance that you didn't have to pay for. Depending on the wording of the agreement, you may still retain the rights to the underlying screenplay. Next time, talk to an attorney first.
Answered on Nov 18th, 2013 at 9:06 AM