Making money from someone else's copyrighted film

Thanks Jonathan. Another suggestion from me: buy glasses to that inspector! BTW, I still love P5.

So is the P5 answer not to use public domain or it's ok to use public domain?

hehe just turn anyone in that you think is doing something wrong is their solution :-)

That doesn't sound like making friends and influencing people ... Since I'm sure there are hundreds of artists asking the same question it would be nice to have it clarified. The written rules and actual appearance or application just don't seem to match now. Oh well ;)

I'm not for the sale of public domain footage, but I'm sure there are legal loopholes that make it okay...legally if not morally. I wouldn't do it.

As far as buying and selling old 8mm, 16mm films goes, I think this is a great thing. I just bought a nice 1970's 16mm film of Italy, paid to have it professionally telecined and had to spend hours painstakingly color-correcting and restoring it because it was in the early stages of deterioration and had a pink cast to it. This isn't something I do regularly, but I've been bored with this horrible winter we're having and figured I'd try it. I think the original filmmaker, who is long dead, would have more respect for me for preserving a film he obviously took great care in making, than his heirs who pitched it out in an estate sale. Again, I think you should use your own moral compass when using other people's old films they sold. I honestly wouldn't feel right selling clips of intimate family moments like birthday parties, weddings, etc, even with permission. I'm not knocking those that do, but I wouldn't feel right doing it. On the other hand there is plenty of old footage that is an enormous resource for historical purposes...disasters, world fairs, vintage cars, historic landmarks, etc...the best thing is you are preserving a piece of history that will eventually degrade and be gone forever if you don't save it. Just my take on the subject.

Here is my take on this.
Do you have a piece of paper saying you have the copywrite for the film since you didn't shoot it.

Yes you bought the film from eBay and the film maker may be dead but there is always heirs that may want compensation.
If you don't have clear copywrite then there could be problems in the future.

I'm not talking to anyone in pertiqular but in general for my own education.

Jake

I'm going to get some clear information on public domain footage for everyone, but I'm afraid I have to ask for your continued patience while I work on that. In the meantime, yes, we do want you to report things that you think might constitute fraud, absolutely. In an actual instance of fraud, it's important that we document everything. :)

Hello everyone.
The legal use of public domain material is always a confusing subject; there are loopholes and there are variations and a bit of subjectivity when it comes to approval and rejection.
Pond5 policy is that we do not accept public domain footage unless our curators determine that it has been reworked enough to make it a unique work.
The copyright issue is an entirely different aspect. We do not accept copyrighted material. By agreeing to our contributor agreement at the time of registration we take our contributors word that they have the proper rights to sell the footage they are uploading. With public domain or archival material, it is very often difficult to tell what the source is---but if we determine that is does come from a copyrighted work then that clip is rejected.

Home movies bought on ebay or a garage sale are not considered public domain and this is where it gets even more complicated. 'Works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. For works first published prior to 1978, the term will vary depending on several factors'

Since Pond5 or the contributors, in most cases, cannot verify these dates with any precision we accept and reject submissions on a case by case basis via our curatorial process.

Thank you for the update.
This gets too complicated for me and why I stay away from it.

Here's NASA's take on imagery from them: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html#.Ux_DCj9dUzI

The one line that sticks out is very clear: "It is unlawful to falsely claim copyright or other rights in NASA material."

I know many have used images and video from NASA as is on here. This is a no-no as well.