Posted by TheMojoPin at dialup-209.244.208.147.dial1.washington2.level3.net on February 06, 2002 at 23:47:02:
In Reply to: important question: copyrighted material in movies posted by phlegmgem on February 06, 2002 at 23:38:44:
...and the festival should be the least of your concern...they'll put up nearly antying and everything, content be damned...it all depends on how wary your financial backers are, be they local investors or a big-time studio...or based on how sue-happy your intended "target" may or may not be...ANY "hoe to be an indie filmmaker" book worth it's salt will have chapters on legal issues like you mentioned, and more often than not will list big, complicated legality-type tomes that will answer all your questions...plus it all depends on what light the person/product is put in, how much exposure the film will get, how much screentime, yadda-yadda-yadda...in the end, it's really a judgement call on your part...be blunt: odds are not too many people will see your film...by the time any refernces may catch a famous person/big company's attention, your film will probably have inexplicably reached a level of success that allows you the funds to hire a couple phat-cat lawyers to back your troublemaking-ass up...
-TMP