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| Courtesy of http://whenfallsthecoliseum.com |
I have stated before in other posts that as a Media Director
I have to keep up with legal issues that can arise involving what our church is
creating and putting out. Not having a lawyer on hand to consult with does make
it hard when I have decipher copyright and intellectual property law in
reference to the videos, graphics, and songs that are created or used during a
church service. When I am in need of advice or just clarification with respect
of what we are creating I look to podcasts pertaining to entertainment law. I
have found three really good podcasts that offer advice and/or another
perspective on entertainment law.
The first podcast called Entertainment
Law Update is from Gordon Firemark. Firemark covers a wide range of
topics concerning entertainment law but the ones I listen to the most are about
copyrights because those are the issues I deal with the most. I enjoy his
podcast because he talks about current cases in the industry and then explains
the law surrounding those cases and the verdicts. Firemark has a way of
explaining the cases in a way that is not necessarily all legalese but in a way
that anyone who isn’t a lawyer can understand. In one of his podcasts he talks
about a few copyright cases, one of those cases deal with remakes of the Wizard of Oz and the protected
characters looks. The issue lies in if the characters are still protected under
the current copyright laws. I would
recommend listening to this podcast, especially if you are facing similar
issues with using a character’s likeness in a video or graphic.
Another podcast hosted by Arizona State University law
students I have found to also be helpful in finding information on
entertainment law. These two students are not yet lawyers and by no means offer
legal advice but merely opinions and information to help you make your own
informed decisions. The podcasts are found on the ASU
Sports and Entertainment Law Journal page. Although these podcasts are
nearly a year old the information and opinions discussed are still relevant to
copyright and fair use laws today.
The third podcast that I would recommend deals with issues
that pertain to the music industry. This podcast is called Above
the Noise hosted by Aaron Bethune and discusses legal issues within the
entertainment industry, specifically the music business. Although this podcast
does not directly talk about video or graphic issues but the information and
interviews still are of some value. Churches still have to deal with licensing
issues with music used in the worship portion of services. For example, our
church is planning on putting out a worship cd with our band and it is
important that we work out the legal issues prior to recording the live worship
set.
When it comes to dealing with any issue within the
entertainment industry and church media it is important to always research the
information needed to make an informed decision. Also, never rely solely on
information found on the Internet or library, try to consult a lawyer whenever
possible.
