Fair Use

RECAP: Doc U: Understanding Fair Use [PHOTOS] This past Monday, January 30, members of the documentary community kicked off the first Doc U of 2012 at Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater with a conversation about the intricate details of fair use in documentary filmmaking.

We may or may not have broken a few fire codes to get everyone in the building, but we should have known that this panel would be so popular! Chairs had to be set up in the aisles to accommodate the overwhelming turnout for this event. Michael Lumpkin started the seminar by introducing moderator Adam Chapnick (far right) and panelists (from left to right) Michael Donaldson, Mitchell Block, and Russell Hickey. Michael Donaldson, an entertainment attorney who has been fighting for independent filmmakers for most of his career, started off by helping the audience with some easy ways to identify what he called the "safe harbor" in fair use. Donaldson told the audience to ask themselves three important questions in order to be safer than safe:

A Fair Shake for Fair Use. Documentary filmmakers have all too often found their creative work hobbled by unnecessarily harsh copyright clearance practices.

Now, filmmakers have taken the initiative to change their environment. The International Documentary Association took a leadership role in co-authoring a Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use. Fair Use.