This is our on-going series, with brief posts to introduce teachers to new online terms and concepts, related to using Social Media and avoiding problems with IP Law.
What are Clearances?
Clearance is permission to use an object (which has inherent or registered IP values) in your video or audio or other work of art or creation. Anything you post online that is visible to a public audience, needs Clearances on all items that appear, can be heard, can be see, etc. — this means you contact the owners in advance, usually in writing, and get written permission. They might say no, they might ask for a fee, and they have a right to limit your use of their IP.
If you ignore them, fail to contact them in advance, or violate any agreement, then they can sue you for encroachment. It’s easier to get permissions and clearance before you record or shoot something, and before you edit it, so that’s why this needs to be discussed with students and colleagues.
Here’s an example: You shoot a video of your students, and mindlessly allow a logo of a national brand to be caught in the frame of one scene. Then you submit this video to a film festival, and you are selected for competition. Later, you get a message form the film festival’s lawyers, who request from you proof that you have permission to use the national brand logo in your video — and you don’t, so you are eliminated from the festival.
Another concern of the festival: Do you have signed model releases for every student appearing (as actors) in the video? If you keep you video in a private channel, and never distribute it or post it publically, then none of this applies. But if you post it in public area of a socil media site, then you need to know about Clearances.
Dottore Mark 