pope 0 #1 September 2, 2004 Are they the same as here? If someone in Europe uses my footage without permission on National television, anyone know what rights I have? pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #2 September 2, 2004 Your question would most likely be better answered by a lawyer that practices international law.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #3 September 3, 2004 thanks for that heads up-- I guess if I wasn't a poor, dumb skydiver, I could afford to talk to a lawyer about it. I thought that perhaps some of the people that lurk this international forum might have had some experience/knowledge in this arena... anyone else? pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #4 September 3, 2004 Try PMing LawRocket. I'm not sure he lurks the video forum.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ille 0 #5 September 3, 2004 I think the property rights are almost the same in the EU countries. But some new member countries may have different laws. In which country was this video transmitted. I think you definitely should get paid for the video. /Christian from Swedenhttp://www.lufk.nu Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #6 September 3, 2004 eugh... I hate IP. In general the rules are pretty similar throughout the West... I'd be amazed if you didn't have a cause of action arising out of the use of your footage on TV wherever it was used. Copyright infringement is a pretty common concept. Let me know which country it was used in and I'll give you a starting point. It might also be useful to know how they got hold of your material (if you know yourself of course). Don't be sue happy - it's a pain in the arse and far from necessary 99% of the time. Your first step is to find out which TV co. made the program and contact them. Keep a record of all correspondence and remember a letter is far more likely to be taken seriously than e-mail or a phone call. It's highly likely that they will try to deal with your complaint rather than simply giving you a flat "piss off" (although may well be a tactic you encounter). If they're a big company they are likely to already have a procedure in place to deal with this exact situation and things could go quite smoothly. Chances are you're not going to need to quote law at them - it's quite a simple point that you can't just use someone else’s footage without permission. If there's a dispute at all it'll most likely come down to facts or value. Useful information for you to find out would be the standard rates for freelance footage in the country where the program was shown. Perhaps also the company’s standard rates – often found on their own website. Also google for the local ombudsman who may have the ability to receive a complaint from you. There’s also likely to be a local copyright protection agency. Depending on how much money you’re looking at, you may want to consider instructing a local lawyer to assist you. I don’t know how fee arrangements work over there but if it’s anything like here you could make use of a no-win-no-fee arrangement or an insurance policy to cover your legal fees until after you recover some money. Be very aware though that these could easily swallow a big chunk of whatever fees you recover, so try on your own and understand that formal advice is probably only worth it if there’s a lot at stake and you find yourself getting nowhere on your own. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #7 September 3, 2004 I was just about to recommend PMing you Matt. Cheers.-------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #8 September 3, 2004 wow! Thanks for the detailed reply. It was in Switzerland, and I'm not looking to sue, but rather just for the producers to hold up their end of the bargain...I was hoping that the director/producer would just be a stand-up guy and do as he promised, but it doesn't appear to be happening. I'll call the television production company tonight and see if they can help. The website is difficult to navigate due to my lack of knowledge of the Swiss-German language, so no luck finding rates there... Thanks again for the reply. pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #9 September 6, 2004 The US and Switzerland has had an agreement guaranteeing bilateral recognition of each other’s copyright since 1891… that ought’ a count as established law. So if you own the copyright in the US, it’s just as good in Switzerland. (As a side point, it’s actually the same agreement that covers copyright relations between the US and the UK). Quote rather just for the producers to hold up their end of the bargain...I was hoping that the director/producer would just be a stand-up guy and do as he promised. Hmmm… you seem to be suggesting that you had some kind of agreement with the producers. That could make this as much a contact dispute as one based purely on copyright infringement. See if you gave them your footage and permission to use it; that may not count as copyright infringement. Instead your argument may be that you only gave them permission on the grounds that they would pay you money in return… that may make this a pure contract dispute in that you provided them with a commodity and they’ve defaulted payment. It all depends on exactly what was agreed. Consider what agreement you had made and what they were supposed to do to hold up their end of the bargain. Consider what evidence you have of the existence of the agreement and of it’s content. Consider if they’re actually disputing the existence of the agreement or if they’re just being difficult about paying up. Your tactics should depend on exactly what they’re actually disputing – if anything. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #10 September 8, 2004 Quote Hmmm… you seem to be suggesting that you had some kind of agreement with the producers. That could make this as much a contact dispute as one based purely on copyright infringement. See if you gave them your footage and permission to use it; that may not count as copyright infringement. Instead your argument may be that you only gave them permission on the grounds that they would pay you money in return… that may make this a pure contract dispute in that you provided them with a commodity and they’ve defaulted payment. It all depends on exactly what was agreed. Consider what agreement you had made and what they were supposed to do to hold up their end of the bargain. Consider what evidence you have of the existence of the agreement and of it’s content. Consider if they’re actually disputing the existence of the agreement or if they’re just being difficult about paying up. Your tactics should depend on exactly what they’re actually disputing – if anything. We had a verbal agreement for usage of each other's footage. Theirs was in another format and we didn't have the means to copy it--Ours was miniDV, so it was firewired. They were to make a copy as soon as they returned to the studio and mail it to me. 3 phone calls, as many emails, and two months later, I've been had. All we ever wanted was (what we agreed to:) a copy of their footage, and rights to use it. Our footage has never been firewired to anybody else, so it seems like technically, it is a contract dispute, but if they refuse to pay (with footage), it becomes copyright infringement, as we can obviously prove that we own the footage in question--is my understanding off here? Either way, a letter to the parent television company is being drafted presently...any advice on *exactly* what to say/how to phrase it? cheers! pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
