Copyrights and Royalties

smilingontheoutside

Hi
Not sure I'm in the right forum - please redirect if not.
A live at home older persons charity has asked if we'll help out with a video of older folks speaking about their memories of VE day. We are not professionals- we have a camera and hubby knows how to edit videos.
We would like to add a bit of music of the time in the background - can we do this with music 75+years old?
And one of the interviewees has found a photograph of herself in a book that she wanted to show. Can we reproduce that image from a book? Not sure at all about copyright laws and I've tried to read it but my brain doesn't work in such ways!
We obviously don't want to run into any legal problems  when we're actually trying to do a good thing here!
Any advice or cautions would be gratefully received.
Thank you 

davidmcn

There are various resources of music you can acquire already licensed for purposes like this, so I'm sure you can find something suitable.
As for the photo, you need to work from the assumption that the photographer has copyright, and then make an assessment of any risks. Obviously if the video isn't going to be widely circulated (or commercial) and/or the photographer is impossible to trace, it's unlikely to be an issue.

DoaM

As per above. The key thing to remember is that the photographer has copyright to the photo (unless he/she has sold/given away such rights and this can be evidenced) ... the subject of the photo has no rights to it (again unless this was agreed at the time).

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

When you mention the photo do you mean it will feature in the film or be used somewhere else? 

You are allowed to use copyright material for commentary and criticism which is worth a Google, use of the photo in the video itself may well fall under this. 

I also assume this isn't a Hollywood film and the odds of the company who published the book seeing the photo and then taking action are slim to none. 

Regarding music have a look at something like www.openmusicarchive.org

JJ_Egan

Old photo    who took it dead and buried now ??

smilingontheoutside

davidmcn said:

There are various resources of music you can acquire already licensed for purposes like this, so I'm sure you can find something suitable.
As for the photo, you need to work from the assumption that the photographer has copyright, and then make an assessment of any risks. Obviously if the video isn't going to be widely circulated (or commercial) and/or the photographer is impossible to trace, it's unlikely to be an issue.

Thanks for your reply. Ok I will seek out some licensed music. Is that what I would Google?
The photo- I suspect I won't be able to find the owner. But i will try. If the owner has died - do the same rules apply?
It's  not a commercial film but we are hoping that it will elicit some funding from businesses to put on a street party for the older people folks.

smilingontheoutside

DoaM said:

As per above. The key thing to remember is that the photographer has copyright to the photo (unless he/she has sold/given away such rights and this can be evidenced) ... the subject of the photo has no rights to it (again unless this was agreed at the time).

Thanks for replying. Does that rule apply indefinitely- once memories and people have passed away? 

smilingontheoutside

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

When you mention the photo do you mean it will feature in the film or be used somewhere else? 

You are allowed to use copyright material for commentary and criticism which is worth a Google, use of the photo in the video itself may well fall under this. 

I also assume this isn't a Hollywood film and the odds of the company who published the book seeing the photo and then taking action are slim to none. 

Regarding music have a look at something like www.openmusicarchive.org

Hi thanks for your response. The photo was an image we'd like to have included in the film. Images and artefacts from the day are hard to come by but really bring the story alive.
No - hardly Hollywood! But as I mentioned to someone - we are hoping to obtain some donations from local businesses to fund a street party.
I imagine the chances of it being a problem are slim - but don't want to land the charity in hot water for something we didn't think about.
Thanks for the link 

smilingontheoutside

JJ_Egan said:

Old photo    who took it dead and buried now ??
Yes, I would absolutely imagine so. I will do what I can to find the name of the person who took the photo - but if I can't- does that mean I can use?

davidmcn

smilingontheoutside said:

davidmcn said:

There are various resources of music you can acquire already licensed for purposes like this, so I'm sure you can find something suitable.
As for the photo, you need to work from the assumption that the photographer has copyright, and then make an assessment of any risks. Obviously if the video isn't going to be widely circulated (or commercial) and/or the photographer is impossible to trace, it's unlikely to be an issue.

Thanks for your reply. Ok I will seek out some licensed music. Is that what I would Google?
The photo- I suspect I won't be able to find the owner. But i will try. If the owner has died - do the same rules apply?
It's  not a commercial film but we are hoping that it will elicit some funding from businesses to put on a street party for the older people folks.

"Library music" or "production music" should give you enough to go on for a search.

If photographer has died then rights pass to their estate, don't know off the top of my head what the timescales are. To be honest, if it's just a fleeting reference to the photo within the video I'm not sure that copyright even becomes all that relevant (though larger tv/film productions would tend to try to "clear" such things), would be different if you were actually reproducing the photo.

Undervalued

JJ_Egan said:

Old photo    who took it dead and buried now ??

Even if they are the copyright still exists until the end of the 70th year after the photographer's death. It will now belong to whoever inherited their estate (unless they left it specifically to somebody else or sold their rights prior to their death).