March 2007

Greetings:

Short films now fill Internet sites. Short films are moving onto television, iPods and mobile phones all over the world. A market for short films is building daily worldwide.

There may be only a few of us interested in the topic of copyright for short films created by young filmmakers while attending film school. Filmmakers at a film school like USC School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California ought to learn a lot about U.S. Copyright Law, and ought to hang on to the copyright for their short films. For some filmmakers who have made student films and have moved on, this topic may no longer be relevant to them at all. Yet, it is the new filmmaker about to create a movie at a film school that is of interest. That filmmaker ought to protect and promote their rights and hang on to the copyright to not only their original stories and screenplays but to their completed short films as well. Here is a potential learning experience for young filmmakers to get useful knowledge, training and practice about U.S. Copyright Law, license agreements, promotion, marketing and distribution of their short films -- all lost to them if they don't control the copyright to their own works.

Turns out that the University of Southern California really, really wants to grab on to the rights to your original works of authorship. It is a university wide policy, not just for cinema students. It is reasonable to assert that the USC Cinematic Arts Copyright Policy is unlawful as governed by U.S. Copyright Law, it is a bad faith policy that intentionally harms and injures the intellectual property rights of young filmmakers and ought to be overturned. Young filmmakers would benefit from learning more about U.S. Copyright Law and learning that USC intentionally tries to deceive and mislead in order to gain an unfair advantage to get copyright to your original works of authorship. USC forces a written agreement upon cinema students seeking their signature. It's only the signed written agreement that allows USC to lawfully claim copyright ownership, nothing else. USC Cinema students are not provided with much enlightening up front information about U.S. Copyright Law along the way to allow for informed consent. That's not okay.

Here is what we are seeking: U.S. Copyright Law instruction at the USC School of Cinematic Arts for student filmmakers; the current USC School of Cinematic Arts Copyright policy to be overturned, ended, done away with; student owned copyright to not only their original stories and screenplays but to their completed short films as well; USC School of Cinematic Arts instruction on story rights, U.S. Copyright Office registration for original works of authorship, collaboration agreements, work for hire agreements for film crew members, license agreements, promotion, marketing and distribution of short films; a new standard USC School of Cinematic Arts license agreement with the USC Office of Festivals and Distributions whereby USC can join the filmmakers in marketing a short film - but USC shall not own the copyright, they just share revenue and help students promote, market and distribute their own works.

Your comments are welcome.

JOHN LONGENECKER