Book Review - The Permission Seeker's Guide Through The Legal Jungle by Joy R. Butler
Category Book Review
As a writer and presenter, I know there's a number of copyright issues you can get into if you're not careful. I didn't have the faintest idea *how* extensive those issues are until I read The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Clearing Copyrights, Trademarks and Other Rights for Entertainment and Media Productions by Joy R. Butler. At worst, you'll see how the nation's lawyer corps stay employed. At best, you'll keep out of harm's way and not end up in court yourself.
Contents:
Part 1 - Overview of Rights Clearance Issues: Guide to Using This Book; Checklist of Clearance Issues
Part 2 - Relevant Rights and Laws: Copyright Basics; Trademark Basics; Common Elements of Privacy, Publicity and Defamation Law; Right of Privacy; Right of Publicity; Defamation; Other Relevant Rights and Laws
Part 3 - Clearance Issues for Specific Productions: Clearance Issues for Publishers and Writers; Clearance Issues for Visual Artists; Clearance Issues for Musicians and Music Producers; Clearance Issues for Film, TV and Audio-Visual Producers; Clearance Issues for Producers of Websites and Software; Clearance Issues for Business
Part 4 - The Process of Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission: Getting Organized; Putting Your Own House In Order; Submitting the Request for Permission; Negotiating the Rights Agreement
Part 5 - Seeking Permission to Use Specific Materials: Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Books and Other Printed Material; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Visual Art; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Music; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Film, TV, and Video Footage; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Website and Software Materials; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission with Respect to People; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Trademarks, Products, and Locations
Part 6 - Minimizing Your Risks and Protecting Yourself: Methods of Minimizing Risk; Dealing with Lawsuits
Appendix, Resources and Forms: Resources, Forms
Index
About the Author
I'm sure most of us at some time or another copied a picture off the web or downloaded a song or two. And it's not easy to avoid all the stories these days about music and video piracy. What Butler's book does is give you a comprehensive AND readable guide to what rights are present in various forms, as well as how you need to secure those rights if you want to legally use materials in your own works. It's likely that putting a single image in a Powerpoint presentation for your department at work isn't going to put you in any legal jeopardy. But let's say you used that same download image (without permission, of course) in an eBook you created and made available for sale online. If the rightful owner of that image finds that you've done so, they have legal rights that can involve damages, injunctions, and other nasty obligations that can wipe out any profit you *may* have made from your book. Much better to secure permission beforehand and make sure you won't spend any time in court defending yourself.
Even if you're not involved in a particular area, say like filmmaking, it's still interesting to read the material. Butler not only states the law, but she includes a large number of court case references that show how the law has been applied in the past. Of course, each case is different, but what I quickly discovered is that what appears to be reasonable may not be, and you can cross over from fair use to unauthorized use of material with ease. This book won't tell you the answer to every situation you may encounter, but it will get you thinking about issues you need to be concerned with. Something about ignorance not being an allowed defense... :)
This is a book I'd recommend be on the reference shelf of any writer, artist, filmmaker, or singer. It can protect your own rights with your creations, as well as making sure you're protected against unlawful use of others' material...
As a writer and presenter, I know there's a number of copyright issues you can get into if you're not careful. I didn't have the faintest idea *how* extensive those issues are until I read The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Clearing Copyrights, Trademarks and Other Rights for Entertainment and Media Productions by Joy R. Butler. At worst, you'll see how the nation's lawyer corps stay employed. At best, you'll keep out of harm's way and not end up in court yourself.
Contents:
Part 1 - Overview of Rights Clearance Issues: Guide to Using This Book; Checklist of Clearance Issues
Part 2 - Relevant Rights and Laws: Copyright Basics; Trademark Basics; Common Elements of Privacy, Publicity and Defamation Law; Right of Privacy; Right of Publicity; Defamation; Other Relevant Rights and Laws
Part 3 - Clearance Issues for Specific Productions: Clearance Issues for Publishers and Writers; Clearance Issues for Visual Artists; Clearance Issues for Musicians and Music Producers; Clearance Issues for Film, TV and Audio-Visual Producers; Clearance Issues for Producers of Websites and Software; Clearance Issues for Business
Part 4 - The Process of Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission: Getting Organized; Putting Your Own House In Order; Submitting the Request for Permission; Negotiating the Rights Agreement
Part 5 - Seeking Permission to Use Specific Materials: Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Books and Other Printed Material; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Visual Art; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Music; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Film, TV, and Video Footage; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Website and Software Materials; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission with Respect to People; Clearing Rights and Seeking Permission to Use Trademarks, Products, and Locations
Part 6 - Minimizing Your Risks and Protecting Yourself: Methods of Minimizing Risk; Dealing with Lawsuits
Appendix, Resources and Forms: Resources, Forms
Index
About the Author
I'm sure most of us at some time or another copied a picture off the web or downloaded a song or two. And it's not easy to avoid all the stories these days about music and video piracy. What Butler's book does is give you a comprehensive AND readable guide to what rights are present in various forms, as well as how you need to secure those rights if you want to legally use materials in your own works. It's likely that putting a single image in a Powerpoint presentation for your department at work isn't going to put you in any legal jeopardy. But let's say you used that same download image (without permission, of course) in an eBook you created and made available for sale online. If the rightful owner of that image finds that you've done so, they have legal rights that can involve damages, injunctions, and other nasty obligations that can wipe out any profit you *may* have made from your book. Much better to secure permission beforehand and make sure you won't spend any time in court defending yourself.
Even if you're not involved in a particular area, say like filmmaking, it's still interesting to read the material. Butler not only states the law, but she includes a large number of court case references that show how the law has been applied in the past. Of course, each case is different, but what I quickly discovered is that what appears to be reasonable may not be, and you can cross over from fair use to unauthorized use of material with ease. This book won't tell you the answer to every situation you may encounter, but it will get you thinking about issues you need to be concerned with. Something about ignorance not being an allowed defense... :)
This is a book I'd recommend be on the reference shelf of any writer, artist, filmmaker, or singer. It can protect your own rights with your creations, as well as making sure you're protected against unlawful use of others' material...
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