Documentarians, fair use, and free expression: changes in copyright attitudes and actions with access to best practices

Abstract

This study, based on a survey of 489 documentary filmmakers, is a case study in copyright policy in and through practice. It assesses the changes in documentary production practice around clearance of copyrighted material since the creation of the Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in fair use in 2005. Fair use, an exotic and occasional feature of documentary film in 2004, has become well known and commonly employed. Creative options for filmmakers concerning the use of third-party material have dramatically improved with changes in norms after the issuing of the Statement. Attitudes about fair use are strongly associated with free expression and creative opportunity, and vary with experience. Where filmmakers have changed work because of copyright concerns, they themselves rather than any gatekeeper have made the decision to do so. Where change is associated with fair use, risk is a common concern. Newer filmmakers are more likely to support the use of copyrighted material to make new work, but less likely to know about fair use, and also more likely to have experienced takedowns online. Both education about and experience with fair use appear to have an effect on practice. Filmmakers continue to lack reliable information on the actual risk landscape, and about fair use on digital platforms.

Keywords:

• copyright
• film
• documentary
• fair use
• intellectual property
• creativity
• policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Patricia Aufderheide is University Professor in the School of Communication at American University, and co-author with Peter Jaszi of Reclaiming fair use: How to put balance back in copyright (University of Chicago, 2011). [email: [email protected]]

Aram Sinnreich is Associate Professor in the School of Communication at American University, and author of The piracy crusade: How the music industry's war on sharing destroys markets and erodes civil liberties (University of Massachusetts Press, 2013). [email: [email protected]]

ORCID

Patricia Aufderheide http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3725-6715

Aram Sinnreich http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0499-9109

Notes

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