What Does It Mean to Clear Rights?
As a media producer, clearing rights means making sure that no material in your production violates the rights of any other person. Rights an unwary producer might violate include copyright, trademark, right of publicity, right of privacy and defamation.

Who Needs to Clear Rights?
All those who develop and distribute entertainment and media need to clear rights. They include authors, publishers, visual artists, musicians, tv producers, filmmakers, website owners, and software developers.

Is Rights Clearance Really Necessary?
Yes, it is. If you fail to clear rights, you risk being sued and having the release of your project delayed or prohibited. Many distributors (e.g., networks, publishing companies, record labels) will not accept your work until they are satisfied you have cleared all rights.

What Rights Must Be Cleared?
Whenever you incorporate another person’s material into your production, you must obtain that person’s permission or otherwise determine that the material is legally available for use. The material might be a song, a poem, an illustration, a film clip, a name, or some other item to which another owns the rights.

Proper Rights Clearance Is Not Always Obvious
And that’s where The Permission Seeker’s Guide Through the Legal Jungle can assist you. This 408-page media production resource:

• explains how to recognize and avoid rights clearance problems
• provides detailed instructions for clearing rights
• offers money-saving and risk-minimizing techniques for clearing rights
• lays out copyright, trademark, privacy, defamation, and other laws relevant to clearing rights
• includes over fifty pages of resources and sample forms

About the Author
Author Joy R. Butler is an entertainment, intellectual property and business attorney who regularly assists producers with rights clearance projects. Read Ms. Butler's full bio.