What has happened since the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use was released on November 18, 2005?
- release of films that could never have been seen publicly, or possibly even finished (Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes; This Film Is Not Yet Rated; The Trials of Darryl Hunt)
- saving of millions of dollars in unnecessary licensing costs ($400,000 in one film alone, IFC’s Wanderlust)
- adoption into business practice in public television
• Independent Television Service (ITVS) endorses it
• WGBH producers give it out to their producers, and use it
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has shared it with all general counsels and general managers in its network
• PBS and ITVS jointly used it to clear Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes for broadcast
- adoption of the Statement into business practice by cablecaster IFC, and case-by-case use in other cable companies
- acceptance by all four of U.S. insurance companies for errors-and-omissions insurance of fair use claims (AIG, MediaPro, ChubbPro, and OneBeacon)
- The Copyright Society, the leading association of intellectual property attorneys, has showcased fair use and the Statement at regional and national meetings
- posting of the Statement on the Revver.com website’s guidelines
Read about these successes in IP Today’s article, “Fair Use and Best Practices: Surprising Success“