Fair Use for Documentary Films

NH Entertainment Lawyer Jon M. Garon's latest Filmmaking 2.0 column is "Fair Use for Documentaries." Writes Garon,

"For documentary filmmakers to accurately depict their stories, they invariably need to rely on copyright’s fair use provisions significantly more than other filmmakers. This is particularly true if the documentary focuses on literary or visual works or incorporates copyrighted materials as background content..."

The column cover fair use basics, then takes a closer look about films whose subject is about media and culture, as well as background content. He also recommends the resources available from American University's Center for Social Media's Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use.