The Quest for Copyright: How to Source and Acquire Underlying Intellectual Property for Your Film

Taught by top entertainment attorney Thomas A. Crowell, Esq. who's clients have worked with MARVEL, Starz, Discovery & more!

Feature films, documentaries, biopics, book adaptations, and sequels/prequels are all very different from each other, but they share a fundamental legal necessity: the need to acquire certain intellectual property rights in order to make the film. Whether it’s a fictional character or a real-life person; a novel, play, comic book, movie, TV show, or web series if you don’t own or control the underlying rights your film may end up in litigation rather than the theaters.

This webinar will introduce you to basic intellectual property concepts and walk-through the key agreements and licensing language you will need when you are making a film based upon somebody else’s property or persona.

Too often filmmakers “shoot first and get permission later.”

This might be fine for scenes which can be cut if you can’t get the rights but is disastrous when your entire movie depends upon a copyright or life story that you have not effectively licensed. Intellectual property can be complex, and confusing, and the failure to include the right licensing language may result in a film that can never be distributed. To make matters even more complicated, conscientious producers often pull forms from the web that are not designed for their particular projects.

In this Stage 32 webinar you will learn from one of the top entertainment attorneys in the industry, Thomas A. Crowell, Esq. A former television producer and director of development for STN, Mr. Crowell counsels clients on a wide range of entertainment law and intellectual property rights issues. He has worked with clients who have had deals with TLC, Elsevier Publishing, Starz, Discovery Communications, Focal Press, the Smithsonian Network, WE: The Women's Entertainment Network, The Science Technology Network, IDW Publishing, and Sony Entertainment. His clients' work is seen in the pages of Marvel and DC Comics and on movie, TV, computer, and mobile screens across the world.

He will teach you how to spot problems with licensing agreements, learn what agreements are needed in order to license copyright and “life rights,” and learn how to investigate and correct breaks in a film’s “chain of title.”

You will walk away feeling confident that you have the correct copyrights in place for your project! 

Praise for Thomas:

"Thomas is great. I love a producer turned attorney because of the insight they can provide into various situations and life rights are so much more common in documentary than in narrative storytelling; so I appreciate his view on what this group of rights is and how to approach a life rights deal." -- David S.

"Flowing with knowledge and apparent honesty, an excellent workout for the nuance of the topic , information I'm certain to deal with." -- Chris Z.