Legal and Ethical Issues - Film

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988)

The law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound
recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published
editions, rights to control the ways in which their material may be used.

The rights cover: broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing,
renting and lending copies to the public.

This is a CIVIL law, not a CRIMINAL law.

This means it is not a criminal offence to break the law, which could result in a
fine or jail sentence.

Instead, the person who owns the copyright has to sue the person they believe
has broken the law.

The case is then heard in a civil court and if the person is found guilty of breaking
copyright law then they will have to pay damages to the owner of the copyright.
The amount of damages is set by the court.

APPLICATION
I will ensure that the short film, which will be produced by myself will be original and not be
deliberately similar to another film, created by another person. The short film I will create
will not take the credit of another individuals creativity and will be completely independent
from other people. Any material in the short film that was not previously created by myself
e.g music soundtracks, I will responsibly request permission from the owner of that music,
sound effects that are not owned by myself.

Equality Act 2010

This law legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in
wider society.
It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:
 ⮚ Age
⮚ Being or becoming a transsexual person
⮚ Being married or in a civil partnership
⮚ Being pregnant or on maternity leave
⮚ Disability
⮚ Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
⮚ Religion/belief or lack of religion/belief
⮚ Sex
⮚ Sexual orientation

This is a CRIMINAL law.

Therefore anyone who is considered to be breaking the law could be arrested.
It would result in a criminal trial which if found guilty could result in a fine or
jail sentence.

APPLICATION
I will ensure that I abide by this legislation, by making sure that the content in
my short film is inclusive and does not intentionally discriminate against people
in society who may or may not appear in my short film. The film will attempt to
be inclusive by including people from all different backgrounds, regardless of
race, age, gender, sexuality, disability, religion etc. I will also ensure that
concessions and arrangements are made for people who need them during the
stage of filming, to accommodate those with specific needs. The film will
represent people from all different backgrounds respectfully, and will be
mindful of them when filming.

Intellectual property
What intellectual property is
Having the right type of intellectual property protection helps you to stop
people stealing or copying:
⮚ the names of your products or brands
⮚ your inventions
⮚ the design or look of your products
⮚ things you write, make or produce

Copyright, patents, designs and trade marks are all types of intellectual
property protection. You get some types of protection automatically, others
you have to apply for.

You own intellectual property if you:

 ⮚ created it (and it meets the requirements for copyright, a patent or a
design
⮚ bought intellectual property rights from the creator or a previous owner
⮚ have a brand that could be a trade mark e.g. a well known product name

If you believe anyone has stolen or copied your property you would sue them
in civil court.

Types of protection
The type of protection you can get depends on what you’ve created. You get
some types of protection automatically, others you have to apply for.

Automatic protection

Protection you have to apply for

Examples of intellectual
Type of protection Time to allow for application
property
Trade marks Product names, logos, jingles 4 months
Appearance of a product
Registered designs including, shape, packaging, 1 month
patterns, colours, decoration
Inventions and products, eg
Patents machines and machine parts, Around 5 years
tools, medicines

APPLICATION
I will ensure that this piece of legislation will not be infringed, by making sure
that all intellectual property featured in my short film e.g title of film, logo and
music are either fully owned and uniquely made by myself, avoiding
accusations being made of intellectual property being stolen and copyrighted.

If a scenario occurs where the music/soundtrack used in the film that is not
owned or produced by myself or crew, I must be granted permission to use it
first in my film.
Trespass
This is a civil law.
Trespass to land consists of any unjustifiable intrusion by a person upon the
land in possession of another.
Civil trespass is actionable in the courts.

APPLICATION
I will ensure that this legislation is not broken, by ensuring where we record
our film where we are legally permitted to, which is on college site, inside
buildings and outdoors. I will not film in places where we are not legally
allowed to and will acquire permission for every place we film in.

Privacy
The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated into English law
the European Convention on Human Rights.

Article 8.1 of the ECHR provides an explicit right to respect for a private life:
Article 8 protects your right to respect for your private life, your family life, your
home and your correspondence (letters, telephone calls and emails, for
example).
 
Privacy Law is a law which deals with the use of people’s personal information
and making sure they aren't intruded upon. These laws make sure people can't
have their information wrongly used without permission.

Anyone who believes their right has been broken can make a civil claim in the
courts against those they believe have invaded their privacy.

When applying the legal principles the court will balance the claimant's right to
privacy against the right to freedom of expression.

If the claimant is proven to be correct this could result in an injunction banning

the publication of information; damages; and return or destruction of the
material gained from the intrusion.

APPLICATION
I will make sure that this legislation is not breached by the privacy of the
people that star in my short film, the people will also have the privacy
protected by using fake character names so that their personal information is
fully shielded from the public eye.

Defamation Act 2013

This Act reformed defamation law on issues of the right to freedom of
expression and the protection of reputation. It also comprised a response to
perceptions that the law as it stood was giving rise to libel tourism and other
inappropriate claims.

The Act changed existing criteria for a successful claim, by requiring claimants
to show actual or probable serious harm (which, in the case of for-profit
bodies, is restricted to serious financial loss), before suing for defamation in
England or Wales.

It also enhanced existing defences, by introducing a defence for website

operators hosting user-generated content (provided they comply with a
procedure to enable the complainant to resolve disputes directly with the
author of the material concerned or otherwise remove it), and introducing new
statutory defences of truth, honest opinion, and "publication on a matter of
public interest“.

LIBEL
A written, published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation.

SLANDER
Making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.
Defamation is a civil law and so you would need to sue someone who you
believe has damaged your reputation

APPLICATION
Libel will not be committed in my short film, as the film will not be revolved
around real people, they are just fictional characters.

Obscene Publications Act 1959

For the purposes of this Act an article shall be deemed to be obscene if its
effect or (where the article comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of
any one of its items is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and
corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to
read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
In this Act ‘article’ means any description of article containing or embodying
matter to be read or looked at or both, any sound record and any film or other
record of a picture or pictures.

This is a criminal law.

APPLICATION
I will ensure that this law is not violated by ensuring that there is no obscene
content featured in my short film, as the short film will have appropriate
content for the classification as followed from the guidance given by the British
Board of Film Classification (BBFC)