Who owns the raw footage you shoot for clients?
POSTED BY justin IN Uncategorized @ August 11, 2009 - 6:02 pm
Does the client or the production company own the raw footage? We have received a few questions about this lately. There are a myriad of different situations, but in general there are some clear rules.
Here are a few resources:
Who owns the footage you shoot for your clients?
Who owns what? Raw Footage vs. Completed Project
As a general rule, a production company is the owner of everything they shoot, unless requested differently in the contract beforehand. If you are hiring a company to shoot and edit your video make sure that you mention it to them and request it be in your contract. Refer to some of the links above, for the wording and other info.
September 10, 2009 @ 12:45 am
Ben Lee
This is good information you pointed to. We have hundreds of hours of video archives which is now being requested all of the sudden by different clients. Many video producers (like us) do not know the rules BEFORE going out to shoot! Signing a full contract with all the details is always the best way to go. Now with web video there are even more things to consider. Not only raw footage, but how the completed film is used. Do you grant your client free and clear use on DVD, web video, on tape, broadcast, etc. Lots of things to consider. They don't teach you this in film school, do they! Hmm. thanks for the 411.
August 12, 2010 @ 1:16 pm
ORZ
I have the same situation, but one of my clients is telling me to take out of my website the videos that I shot because he owns them, I am using the videos as a Reel and samples of my services, he is telling me that I have no right to do this and that I am using this videos to promote work that its not mine??? I think he is crazy... I shot the videos with my camera and I edit them on my computer.
Im doing contracts now for every production
September 3, 2010 @ 7:36 am
JN
Always work with contracts!