With Christmas movies, old and new, hitting our screens, what better time for trade mark attorney Rachel Havard to delve into the wonder of the movie business, looking at how IP needs to be a consideration at every stage of the creative process.
With the festive season upon us there’s bound to be time for a few good movies, from the feel good family romcom you watch every year, to fairy tale animations, to blockbuster Hollywood franchises. As you snuggle down on the sofa and rummage round in the choccies tin for something which isn’t an orange or strawberry cream, give some thought to the enormous amount of work which goes into your favourite flicks, and the broad range of IP which protects all those creative efforts.
🎞️ Pre-production
A long time ago, in a writer’s house far far away, someone will have penned a story to be told. It may begin with a novel, a full screenplay, or a treatment to put to potential investors, but copyright will automatically be created in an original literary work.
Storyboards will be created, whole worlds and sets will be designed, built first as models to give an idea of feasibility for eventual production. Ornate, even otherworldly costumes will be designed. Character designs will be sketched out. Again, copyright would subsist in such artistic works.
Copyright will also arise in musical works, for new music, musical arrangements or score, which may be laid down a good time in advance of filming.
Copyright is a valuable automatic right in the creatives’ armoury of intellectual property. It is not necessary to register it in the UK but, to be able to enforce it if someone should copy your work, you’ll need to be able to prove that you created an original work yourself, and when. Keeping dated records is a must. Work can be marked with the copyright symbol ©, your name and the year of creation.
🎬Production
When moving into production, more copyright aspects will apply, and performers’ rights will exist in actors’ performances. Musical films will have their own musical performances. Sound and music recordings will attract copyright, as will the film recording itself. There will be production photographs, websites, social media promotions, trailers and movie posters with copyright too, promoting the finished product but while production is still underway.
Throughout the process, care must be taken not to infringe anyone else’s IP. Consideration should be given to any third party permissions needed. Royalties will need to be paid to copyright owners of existing music used in a film’s soundtrack. Use of quotes or extracts from copyright works of others should be authorised and accredited.
Product placement can be hugely beneficial as a marketing tool for brand owners. The James Bond/007 franchise has had significant promotional partnerships over the years, especially with car manufacturers, but often with a sad fate for the cars themselves!
Other productions create their very own brands, especially for their fictional world. Red Apple cigarettes and Big Kahuna Burger spring to mind here, or Duff beer on the small screen.
🍿Movie Merchandising
Production companies will have registered their own trade marks and, often, will look to protect movie names by trade mark registration. There is also good reason to protect other trade marks, names or imagery unique to a film or series of films.
Fans of movies, especially big franchises, will want to collect merchandise. This will be branded, and associated trade marks will be registered.
The movie worlds of Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are recreated in our real world for fans who want the same costumes and props themselves. Toys and action figures will be big sellers over the festive season. Movie franchise trade marks and characters adorn lunch boxes, bed linen, stationery and clothing. Books, comics and games related to the franchise will be created, branded and sold.
Original ideas will be perpetuated in spin off movies, stage shows, small screen series, or animated versions of live action features then, eventually, older movies will be remade and updated. But in all of this, IP will continue to be created, protected and enforced when infringed. Movies are big business, but so is the IP!
If you have any questions about how to protect IP of your own, send an email to hello@two-ip.com or contact us via our website here.
