Entertainment Law: A Comprehensive Guide to Film Television and Talent Deals

66 questions on entertainment law, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Can a court order an actor to perform in a film?
• Can a film be sued for defamation?
• Can a filmmaker rely on fair use?
• Can a freelance screenwriter's script be a work made for hire?
• Can AI-generated footage be copyrighted, and why does it matter for a film?
• Can an author waive the right to terminate a copyright grant?
• Can you defame a dead person in a film?
• Does an actor own a copyright in their own performance?
• Does a studio owe a fiduciary duty to a profit participant?
• Does being a WGA member make a writer an employee for copyright purposes?
• Does the Rogers test still protect film titles after Jack Daniel's?
• Do I need permission to show a real product or brand in a film?
• Do I need to buy someone's "life rights" to make a film about them?
• Do residual obligations transfer when a film library is sold?
• How are pre-1978 works analyzed for work-for-hire status?
• How do courts decide whether someone is an "employee" for work-for-hire purposes?
• How does the First Amendment limit right of publicity claims against films?
• How do you make a fact-based film without a subject's release?
• How is an independent film financed?
• Is background artwork in a film infringement?
• Is there a compulsory license for using music in a film?
• What are packaging fees and what happened to them?
• What are separated rights under the WGA agreement?
• What are the different kinds of film backend, and why do they differ so much in value?
• What are the key terms of a film distribution agreement?
• What are the key terms of a film option/purchase agreement?
• What are the most important lessons in entertainment law for a first-time producer?
• What documents belong in a chain-of-title package?
• What does a script clearance report cover?
• What does pay-or-play mean in a talent deal?
• What happens if there is no written copyright assignment on a film?
• What is a back-up assignment in a writer agreement, and what can it not do?
• What is a CAMA and why does an independent film need one?
• What is a certificate of authorship?
• What is a completion bond?
• What is a cost-plus streaming deal and how does it change a filmmaker's economics?
• What is a digital replica rider and what should it contain?
• What is a false light claim and how does it apply to docudrama?
• What is a loan-out company and why do the guilds still apply?
• What is an option agreement in film, and why is it used?
• What is a residual and how is it different from a royalty?
• What is a shopping agreement and when should it be used?
• What is a turnaround right?
• What is a work made for hire and why does it matter so much in film?
• What is California's seven-year rule for personal service contracts?
• What is chain of title in a film deal?
• What is errors and omissions insurance and why does every film need it?
• What is termination of transfer under section 203?
• What is the derivative works exception to copyright termination?
• What is the difference between an approval right and a consultation right?
• What is the Stewart v. Abend renewal trap?
• What is the Talent Agencies Act and how do managers get caught by it?
• What should a film composer agreement address?
• What should a location agreement contain?
• What should a producer negotiate in their own deal?
• What should a profit participation audit right include?
• What were the Paramount consent decrees and are they still in force?
• When is someone a joint author of a screenplay or film?
• Which film uses have the strongest fair use posture?
• Who decides the writing credit on a film?
• Why did streaming break the residuals model?
• Why does a guild agreement override an individual talent contract?
• Why does film credit matter beyond vanity?
• Why do films that make money never show a net profit?
• Why do you need two licenses to use a song in a film?
• Why should copyright transfers be recorded with the Copyright Office?