Are you having difficulty navigating your way through the legal jungle? If so, you would benefit from absorbing some information about how to use and incorporate cleared content for your videos. The effectiveness of the work you exploit on the World Wide Web (WWW) depends entirely on whether or not you get rights clearance. Failure to obtain rights cleared content can tarnish the image of your business, which could result in you losing customers and that solid reputation you’ve spent so long building up!

Understanding Rights Clearance

When intellectual property is licensed, the process is known as rights clearance. Anyone who is considering distributing media online in video format simply must think about rights clearance before they do so. The multilayered process is fairly comprehensive and aside from being an important thing for online video distributors to sort out, it is also imperative for artists, musicians, authors, and producers of film and/or television.

A number of work elements will be protected with rights clearance, including:

  • Defamation
  • Copyright
  • Trademark
  • Privacy
  • Publicity
  • Patent

The particular laws relating to rights clearance for video content will depend on a person’s country of residence, as well as what kind of content is being exploited on the Internet. The process can be laborious if you don’t know what you are doing and so, conducting adequate research ahead of obtaining rights is crucial.

Types of Rights Clearance

Perhaps the most well known types of rights clearance that will be applied for is copyright. Copyright lasts for 50 years and it can be applied to all kinds of content, including music, video, and photography. The rights it provides are very important and the rights empower the particular creator from the moment the work creation is made. This is not always the case, however, because it is possible for somebody else to obtain rights clearance for copyright, such as the person who creates a derivative of the original work.

Another type of rights clearance is trademark rights. These rights help to identify the product with its source by stamping them with symbols, logos, words, brand names, etc. For as long as the mark is being stamped on the product, it will remain active. Rights clearance can also be accomplished to obtain publicity rights, which is usually the case when a product is being used as a form of advertising. Interpretations and laws vary depending on which state you reside in. Keep in mind that the laws are changing on a regular basis and so, you should confirm whether or not permission is required before using any kind of content for promotional purposes.

Steps for Accomplishing Rights Clearance

In most cases, a “release” from the appropriate parties must be obtained. This “release” will be considered an agreement for lawful use of the content. Also known as a Standard Form Release, this step of the rights clearance process should not be rushed if it is to be accomplished properly. A Standard Form Release might be required from presenters, commentators, lecturers, interviewers, interviewees, and even members of an audience. Avoid using content that hurts somebody’s reputation and make sure any statements included in the material are not offensive or controversial, as this may result in you encountering legal issues.

Trademark rights, publicity rights, and copyright are a few things you simply must be thinking about if you don’t want to run into legal issues. Getting up to speed on all things copyright-related could mean the difference between publishing video legally and illegally. Having rights cleared will aid you in using certain types of material in your video, regardless of its purpose, e.g. educational, promotional, theatrical, etc.