John L. Geiger

John Geiger is a trial lawyer with a film degree. Howard Suber is a film historian who has often appeared as an expert witness in film industry copyright and breach of contract cases. Suber’s testimony has never been successfully challenged. His most famous case was Art Buchwald’s suit against Paramount for breach of contract in the production of Coming to America, in which only the lawyers made a profit. In Creativity and Copyright, they have created a small handbook on copyright aimed at beginning screenwriters and filmmakers. One of the publisher’s blurbs aptly compares its clarity and concision to The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.
The authors stress that fewer things are protected by copyright than one might think but that some things not protected under federal copyright law might be protected under state contract law. Thus, many copyright cases also involve contract disputes.
The authors also spend a good deal of time talking about collaboration. If you are working with a collaborator, creating a formal collaboration agreement early in the process is a very good idea.
Geiger and Suber also note that a 1956 Supreme Court case involving idea theft is why “producers and production companies have adopted the policy of not accepting unsolicited material from people not represented by agents and lawyers.” Yes, lawyers win again.
Informative and readable.… (mais)