Tips On Movie Script Clearance

By Karen Parker


A lot of people who are new to screenwriting are unsure about the definition of script clearance. This guide provides a range of pointers and tips to help you with movie script clearance. It is an important tool for protecting writers, movie makers and production companies from copyright infringement and legal issues.

The aim of a clearance report for a script is to carefully check that it does not infringe upon copyrights or pose any other legal problems. The value of attending to clearance early on in the project is clear. It can prevent costly mistakes occurring in production which may infringe upon other people's rights. Thus it can prevent the need for reshooting and producing aspects of the movie if the problem is caught early on when the film is still in script form.

In fact there are lots of different professionals and companies which are focusing on providing clearance reports for films in a range of genres. The aim of a script clearance provider is to provide knowledgeable insight from lawyers and other qualified professionals. They read a script closely to identify potential copyright infringements which are very easy to miss if one is not experienced.

Many people are not aware of how many ways there are for scripts to infringe on copyright or intellectual properties. For instance simply by including film footage of a work of art, however glancing, film makers must consider the legal implications. The creator of that work of art may very well have a copyright claim which needs to be considered. Another example is a song or poem that is quoted in a script. This must also be vetted to consider copyrights.

Sometimes, a script writer unknowingly infringes upon another person's or groups intellectual property. For instance, a song title that is made up might unknowingly be the name of an actual song. In that case the song writer may have recourse to pursue legal action.

In fact there are many screenwriters today who are investing in clearance reports for their work. It could be a great investment that prevents expensive mistakes in the long run. To follow are some suggestions to help you to make the best decision when choosing a clearance service.

Ensuring that the provider can be counted upon to be completely safe and reputable is key. Ensuring that you can trust them to provide a top notch quality service is very important. Thus vetting and researching your choices very carefully is crucial to this process.

To assist you in this regard thankfully there are many low cost resources around. For instance there are a host of monthly magazines which are dedicated to the topic of film making and screen writing. These often include a wide array of practical tips about clearance of scripts. In addition there are some blogs online which are dedicated entirely to the topic of scripts and screenplays and how to produce them. Look out for the reader forums which may be a useful source of insight for the beginning screenplay writer.




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