Movie Clip Copyrights?

[Solomon Chase]

I'm working with a band to create a music video, and they want to use clips from popular 80's movies (under 10 seconds each) to replace parts of the clips with greenscreen shots, kind of in a mocking, parody style.

How is this covered under fair use?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Solomon Chase

I'm working with a band to create a music video, and they want to use clips from popular 80's movies (under 10 seconds each) to replace parts of the clips with greenscreen shots, kind of in a mocking, parody style.

How is this covered under fair use?

I am not a lawyer. AFAIK, that sort of thing would not be covered by the "fair use" provisions at all. And FYI, the duration has nothing to do with it.

[Tim Goldman]

umm, i dont' think fair use enders into it really.

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

take a look at that, and remember, hollywood is very protective of anything ever made. So i'd just ask for premission

[Solomon Chase]

The link you provided has a line that says "use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied" so I thought that was applicable.

I'm not sure If I know the difference between commercial and promotional, as it is meant to generate interest in the band, not profit.

The clips will be heavily edited. Should I just forget it and just use the ones I can get permission for? I know that since we are dealing with MOVIE clips here, copyright enforcement might be pretty harsh.

[Tim Goldman]

i'm no laywer, all i've had is a basic entertainment law course (not even really law, but that sorta thing). Parody is very much a slippery slope, and it's definded subjectivly.

I know that if you re-enact the clips wth your own actors, but do it for laughs, you should be ok (as long as it's not the whole movie but just a few minutes)

Promotion versus commercial, while i can't say anyuthing legaly binding, just ask your self "is the end goal to make money?"

most of all I would say search the net, it's great resource and that link i found took liek 2 seconds to find. Spend a bit of time doing some reasurch, and if your in doubt or have a feelign that your entering a grey area, contact a lawyer (or look for some self help law books to start with).

But don't take anything posted on a internet forum to seriously, alot of us (myself included) are just people with ideas, not paid professionals.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Solomon Chase

The link you provided has a line that says "use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied" so I thought that was applicable.

I'm not sure If I know the difference between commercial and promotional, as it is meant to generate interest in the band, not profit.

The clips will be heavily edited. Should I just forget it and just use the ones I can get permission for? I know that since we are dealing with MOVIE clips here, copyright enforcement might be pretty harsh.

The reason you're doing it, whether you're selling the final copy or giving it away, whether you make a profit or not, just doesn't matter. The law deals with copying, and with a few very limited and explicitly defined exceptions (criticism, academic research, etc), it doesn't much care why you're doing it.

Best advice is either to get written permision or forgeddaboutit and move on to script idea "B."

Take a look at the link in the sticky topic "Fair use copyright law: The Comic Book!" fouind at the top of this forum - there's a wealth of authoritatiive info on the subject there.

[Solomon Chase]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I just went ahead and talked em' out of it. Too much of a hassle securing rights to 10+ different movies.

[Paul Tauger]

Originally Posted by Solomon Chase

I'm working with a band to create a music video, and they want to use clips from popular 80's movies (under 10 seconds each) to replace parts of the clips with greenscreen shots, kind of in a mocking, parody style.

How is this covered under fair use?

The parody fair use exception is a relatively complicated equitable doctrine, with lots of niche corollaries that including, e.g., the "conjure up test," which will vary depending on the actual content of the parody. This is not something that can or should be evaluated by a lay person. I hate to say it, but you really should consult an attorney for this one.