Resources and Links

Helpful articles:

I’ve written some articles that filmmakers may find helpful:

On Protecting your Pitch

On Clearances

On Depiction Releases

On Location Releases

On Joint Authorship

Check out my blog at: http://pocketlawyerforfilmmakers.blogspot.com

Please join the fan page for The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers on Facebook

Attorneys

Attorney Thomas A. Crowell, Esq.: www.thomascrowell.com

Attorney Ivan Saperstein, Esq.: www.ivansaperstein.com

Entertainment attorneys by state from Findlaw.com: http://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practice/Entertainment

For a state-by-state list of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and other Pro Bono legal organizations serving artists, see: http://www.dwij.org/matrix/vla_list.html or http://negativland.com/lawyers.html

Copyright, Intellectual Property, Public Domain

The United States Copyright Office: www.copyright.gov

The United States Patent and Trademark Office: www.uspto.gov

Search the copyright office website for works registered or renewed since 1978, here: www.copyright.gov/records/

Copyright Registration Short Form PA: www.copyright.gov/forms/formpai.pdf

Copyright Registration Standard Form PA: www.copyright.gov/forms/formpas.pdf

Copyright Office “Circular 45: Copyright Registration for Motion Pictures Including Video Recordings.” www.copyright.gov/circs/circ45.pdf

Copyright Office Circular 12: recording copyrights and transfers: www.copyright.gov/circs/circ12.pdf

AUCSM fair use website: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/fair_use/

AUCSM’s Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use: www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/documentary_filmmakers_statement_of_best_practices_in_fair_use/

National archives: www.archives.gov/research/formats/film-sound-video.html

Entertainment Unions and Societies

Writers Guild of America: www.wga.org

WGA “Screen Credits Policy”: www.wga.org/subpage_writersresources.aspx?id=171

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada: www.iatse-intl.org

The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communications Workers of America: www.nabetcwa.org

For info on SAG low-budget contracts: www.sagindie.org/contracts2.html

Casting Society of America: www.castingsociety.com

Music

ASCAP: www.ascap.com

ASCAP’s “ACE” title search: www.ascap.com/ace/

BMI: www.bmi.com

SESAC: www.sesac.com

American Federation of Musicians: www.AFM.org

National archives: http://www.archives.gov/research/formats/film-sound-video.html

Labor and Employment Law

California laws regarding a worker’s status: the California Independent Contractor FAQ at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_IndependentContractor.html

For more on how the IRS determines a worker’s status, see its brochure:“Contractor or Employee” at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1779.pdf

For information on an employer’s tax responsibilities, see “Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide” at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15a.pdf