May 07, 2015

A Brief Review of Extremely Important Matters: Release Forms, Drones, and Other Miscellany

May 07, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

My latest Cinema Law column for Moviemaker Magazine is out and deals with whether or not to get waivers from background people and passers-by when they walk through your shot. I won't give it all away here (you have to go to the article to hear what I have to say), but I will say this: you probably don't need to be as diligent as I used to be back in my days as a young producer. Head over to Moviemaker Magazine to check it out in full!

April 16, 2015

On Registering Your Film's Copyright Before Festival Submission and Drones

April 16, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

Submitting your film to a festival can be one of the most nerve-racking experiences a filmmaker can have. Believe me I know. In my latest Cinema Law column over at MovieMaker Magazine, I discuss the importance of protecting your copyrighted film before anyone can see it and how that can give you peace of mind. Here's a brief snippet from the article, which you can read in full by heading over here.

April 14, 2015

Why J.K. Rowling Should Walk Away From Harry Potter Forever

April 14, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

The other day, J.K. Rowling gave an interview with Matt Lauer about her charity Lumos and mentioned she probably wouldn't write another story about Harry and the gang, although she wouldn't foreclose the opportunity altogether. I don't know whether Rowling will ever return to Harry Potter but I do know that she shouldn't. In fact, I think she should relinquish all rights to the Potterverse before she messes it all up.

March 17, 2015

Why Experts Are Necessary

March 17, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

And that’s why we have experts testify, isn’t it? Because two reasonable lay persons can come to different conclusions about a thing, and that without expert testimony, the issue would be unresolvable? According to the Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee,”[a]n intelligent evaluation of facts is often difficult or impossible without the application of some scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge."

March 11, 2015

Forgettable Song Could Have Long-Term Negative Effects For Other Artists

March 11, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

You remember Blurred Lines right? It was the smash hit single of 2013 that simultaneously launched (for being catchy) and destroyed (for being rapey) Robin Thicke's career. Well, I'm here to report that this utterly forgettable pop song has now has earned an inauspicious spot in our culture because of a surprisingly foreboding jury decision that found against Thicke and his co-writers Pharrell Williams and Clifford "T.I." Harris, Jr.

March 10, 2015

When It Comes to Fighting The Commoditization of Art, Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F*ck Wit

March 10, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

Last year, Forbes broke the story that Wu-Tang Clan was producing a new 31-track double-album called Once Upon A Time in Shaolin. Only one copy of the album would be produced and auctioned off to the highest bidder. According to RZA, the founding member of NY-based rap group, this was done to combat the heavily commoditized world of modern artistic endeavors.

March 03, 2015

Protecting The Brand: Taylor Swift Seizes Control of Her Brand, Probably Won’t Suffer For It

March 03, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

The past few months have seen a lot of really intriguing legal activity from Swift’s people. First she took her music down from Spotify (by far the most popular streaming music service), meaning the only way to get her new album 1989 is to pay for it directly. A few weeks ago she filed for trademark protection of the phrase “this sick beat” because apparently she thinks there’s a lot of money to be made from it. And just last month she started issuing takedown notices to fans who were selling knock-off Swift merch on Etsy.

February 03, 2015

On Being Nice: Tom Petty Edition

February 03, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

Being in opposition to one another doesn’t mean you can’t be magnanimous too. It’s that old chestnut about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. Judges, juries, and lawyers are people too, and the more they hate you, the less likely they’ll sympathize with you, even if you’re the victim. And while, in theory, the legal system should operate free of bias, the reality is that the “system” is made up of people. And like it or not, people are susceptible to all kinds of prejudices, even if we don’t realize it.

January 27, 2015

The Poor Man’s Copyright Does and Does Not Exist

January 27, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

For those not in the know, the Poor Man's Copyright is the act of mailing a copy of your work to yourself in a sealed envelope. In transit, the envelope will be date stamped and once received by you, it will remain sealed forevermore, or until its opening is required as part of a copyright infringement lawsuit. The combination of being sealed and date stamped is supposed to act as presumptive evidence that your work supersedes all others, including your infringer, at a rate that’s easy on the credit card.

January 13, 2015

Sony’s No Good Terrible Very Bad Year Just Demonstrated The Need For Copyright Reform

January 13, 2015/ Greg Kanaan

It’s really really really really really really really hard to avoid infringing on copyrights, even if you’re a big multi-national corporation. Sony should have known better, but there is just so much content out there - visual, musical, and otherwise - and the internet has made it tremendously easy to access all of it instantly and without much forethought.

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