4. Rights Ownership
Copyright in an artistic work (including video programmes, photographs, graphics, music, etc.) belongs to the Author, and in the case of the videographer this will normally be the person who actually took the shot.
However, there may be circumstances where this might not be the case. It might be the person who chose the angle, the type of shot used, the exposure and settings of the camera but not actually the person who pressed the record button.
As video productions are quite often collaborative efforts, if the videographer or producer wants to ensure that they are the sole owner of the copyright in the completed programme they should agree these terms with everyone involved in the production chain. There is no formal register or registration process for copyright in Europe. To establish copyright ownership the videographer must clearly mark the work with the copyright symbol ‘©’, the date of creation and the owner of the works.
4.1 Performance Rights
Whilst a videographer would naturally own the copyright of their work unless contracted otherwise, they may not have the right to exploit the material if it includes the performance of artists, actors or members of the public recorded in their private life.
An artist’s, actor’s or contributor’s performance in a video production will be subject to them granting the videographer the right to exploit their performance. Essentially, anyone taking part under direction of the videographer will need to agree their inclusion in the final production. This could be as simple as someone you have asked to walk through a shot – with no speaking part.
To ensure that the videographer has the right to exploit the material, anyone that appears under direction in the video should sign a ‘Model Release Form’. This is a simple contract (IOV members can view and download a sample here (members only) which details the production, the artist, their recompense (a contract becomes binding on the exchange of money, goods or services) and the range and term of exploitation the videographer requires. It is also possible to shoot a verbal release into camera, and recorded to tape, which is just as legally binding.
Likewise, if filming on private property which is featured in the video programme, the videographer should also get a ‘Location Release Form’ signed by the legal owners of the property (again, IOV members can view and download a sample here – (members only).
4.2 Moral Rights and rights to privacy
Quite often a videographer will record private functions as part of their business. In the case of a wedding video, the resultant video material would be the copyright property of the videographer unless they have agreed otherwise. However, the wedding couple still have some protection by virtue of the ‘moral right of privacy’. Whilst the ownership of copyright is clear, the videographer can’t publicly display the wedding (such as showing the material at a wedding exhibition or including it on a showreel or website) without the consent of those who commissioned it. If they did, the couple’s privacy rights would be infringed.
It is therefore important to include within the contract the means by which you want to (or could possibly) exploit the material, other than simply providing the couple and their families with copies.
The Data Protection Act also impacts on the work of the videographer because the images themselves are considered to be personal data. Again, using a wedding video as an example, if you were recording at the wedding day you would not need each guest’s permission to include them in the recording. However, their participation in the recording would be based on the assumption that it was for the personal use of the couple and their families. If you subsequently used this material for other purposes, such as using it in a broadcast documentary about weddings, then they may well object under misuse of their personal data.
4.3 General Rights Permission
The general advice on the inclusion of people and places in your video is to seek permission. This is not always required when filming in public places, such as recording general street scenes, but there is a fine line between intruding on someone’s privacy and not. If, for instance, you were filming a high street scene and within that scene two people were having a fight or heated debate and you used that in your video, you might well be infringing on their right to privacy as well as creating material that might incriminate them.
If you are filming a general atmosphere shot in your local high street, and part of the scene includes the signage and logo of a well-known retail store, you would not be infringing their copyright as this is part of the street and in the public domain. However, if you were, for example, making a film about dangerous products and you include a shot of the chain’s logo taken from the street, you may be exposing yourself to the possibility of legal proceedings as your inclusion of the logo could be seen to imply that the chain’s products are the ones that are dangerous.