Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California
Documentary tape ownership dispute
A friend of mine asked me to
accompany him on his first feature
film shoot as a documentary
filmmaker to get the behind the
scene moments. I asked for a
payment from the producers pitching
to them that it would be great for
their dvd as the behind the scenes,
the producers said they couldn't
really pay me but gave me enough
money for my travels and food (no
hotel though). I also filmed the whole
thing on my own equipment. On top
of filming the doc, they asked me to
work additional jobs not related to
the documentary, such as gripping,
PA'ing, and I shot an infommercial
scene for their movie out of my own
pocket. Now over a year has passed
and they demand the footage I shot
saying they own it because the initial
movie I was documentary is their
property. I refused to hand it over
because it the tapes are my property,
no contract was signed, and I want
to be compensated for the additional
work and expenses I lost helping
them make their film. They offered to
give me a percentage of the residuals
when the film is sold (yeah right
haha), but I wanted real money. Now
they are threatening me with
attorneys. What legal grounds do I
have?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Documentary tape ownership dispute
They may try to prove an oral or implied agreement and litigate against you. They may try to say they have other rights to the film. I have dealt with copyright and other such issues before. Your best chances of getting what you want is to have an attorney, in which case I believe this matter might well be negotiated. Otherwise, they will push you around. Please call my office to discuss this matter or send me an email. PS - Do not wait. Once their attorneys get started with litigation, you will have court and other costs, and defense litigation attorneys will want significant money up front once litigation has started.
Regards,
Daniel Bakondi, Esq.
IMPORTANT:
No attorney-client nor confidential relationship is created through this communication. You may not rely in any way on this attorney, or any communication from this attorney, and nothing constitutes legal advice nor legal opinion. Your issue may be time sensitive and may result in loss of rights if you do not obtain an attorney immediately.
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