The Deviousness of My Evil Plan

Anyone who has read these pages on a regular basis will be well aware of my on going campaign to get copyright, trademark and contract law education into animation programs. This was a major lack in my schooling 30 years ago and it remains a major failing of all art programs.

Again I say, a lawyer does not have to know how to draw but an artist better damn well know the laws that apply to the ownership of their own creativity or someone else will gain and control the fruits of that creativity.

For the past 12 years that I have been teaching animation to college and even high school students I have had the same response from all the programs I have been involved with. Basically we don`t have the resources, time, and knowledge to cover non-art subjects in our art curriculum.

The later is the key. I have come to understand that what is really being said is that they do not know the subject themselves and feel that anything that is too complicated for the administrators of the program is too hard for the students. This is reinforced by the number of times I get frantic copyright questions from, not only my students, but from my fellow educators. These laws control their very livelihood and you better believe that artist are interested in something this important to their wellbeing.

The latest volley in my 12 year up hill copyright education battle is on the table. I am currently busy writing a Short Animation Copyright Clearance Guide for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Educators` Forum Student Animation Festival that is in the final planning stages.

Most film festivals require that the filmmaker sign an affidavit of copyright ownership for the elements of their film. This covers the festival and only the filmmaker is left responsible if the statement proves false. But it is well within the rights of the festival to demand proof of copyright ownership, and since our goal is to improve animation education that is what we plan to do.

We plan to give the animation programs the tools to teach creator business law with a short concise Copyright Clearance Guide containing fill-in-the-blank Work-For-Hire contacts and Non Exclusive License Agreements, a tutorial on the use of these documents, and a copyright hotline email address to field questions. And then we plan to require that each film is submitted with copies of these documents.

Here is the deviousness of my evil plan. The teachers and administrators will become exposed to the copyright law in the process of helping their students prepare the documentation for film submission. They will come to understand that the copyright law is understandable. And maybe, just maybe, they will incorporate it in their curriculum.

I have to go now because I feel like laughing maniacally while twisting my handlebar mustache.