WS | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Copyright Workshop with Michael Donaldson 

Location: Director's Room

Read More For Bio

Michael Donaldson provides essential advice on almost every conceivable rights issue they might encounter - from the initial acquisition of material through the situations encountered in preproduction, production, postproduction, and final release. 
See his books at http://michaeldonaldson.com/html/booksdvd.html

Michael Donaldson, Donaldson & Califf, LLP.

Michael C. Donaldson is an entertainment attorney who has been fighting for independent filmmakers for over 30 years. In addition to working on films by such industry icons as Oliver Stone, Davis Guggenheim and Lawrence Bender, Michael serves as General Counsel to Film Independent (home of the Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival) and the Writers Guild Foundation. He is the industry’s go-to attorney for fair use (a doctrine in United States copyright law permitting limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the rights holders) and other clearance- and rights-related issues.

Some of Michael’s notable accomplishments include:

•    Being honored as one of Hollywood Reporter’s 2010 Power Lawyers.

•   Co-author with his partner of the American Bar Association’s Legal Guide to Filmmaking.

•    Being honored with the Amicus Award by The International Documentary Association – an honor bestowed on only two others in the 25-year history of the awards: Steven Spielberg and John Hendricks (founder of the Discovery Channel).

•    Serving as one of the authors of the Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use and being the only attorney in private practice to serve on the drafting committee for the recently released Statement of Best Practices for Online Video.

•    Serving on the Advisory Committee of the Stanford Fair Use Project.

•    Successfully negotiating with Media Professional Insurance Company and Chubb Insurance Company to offer fair use riders on the E&O insurance policies, allowing many films to be made under the fair use doctrine.

•    Assisting in the drafting and lobbying for Orphan Works legislation.

•    Being the sole American attorney to assist in the drafting of the Rome Resolution of 2007 to harmonize Fair Use across the European Union.

•    Holding the position of President of the International Documentary Association.

•    Organizing and leading the Documentary Credits Coalition in negotiations with the cable networks to prevent the wholesale migration of credits from the screen to the Internet.

•    Contributing to The Film Foundation’s book entitled City Secrets: Movies.

Michael graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall in 1967. His book Clearance and Copyright, the third edition of which was just released in September 2008, is used in over 50 film schools and has become the standard industry reference book. Michael also wrote Negotiating for Dummies (now in its second edition and translated into eleven languages), Fearless Negotiating (published in hardback in 2007 by McGraw Hill) and The E-Z Legal Guide to Trademarks & Copyrights.

Michael has worked on such projects as “This Film is Not Yet Rated” (where all 134 clips were utilized under fair use), “Wanderlust” (saving its filmmaker over $400,000) and “Expelled” (which featured the song “Imagine,” prompting an unsuccessful law suit by Yoko Ono). Michael has also worked with the Geffen Playhouse and the REDCAT, as well as representing Center Theatre Group (Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre) for over twenty years.

Aside from lecturing frequently at law and film schools across the United States and in Europe, Michael is an avid skier, world-wide hiker and kayaker, and award-winning photographer. He also won a gold medal at the 1998 Senior Olympics for Parallel Bars and a silver medal on the rings. But what remains most important to Michael (in addition to his partner Tim Kittleson and his Three daughters and Three grandchildren) is his pro bono and philanthropic work.

Digital Hollywood Content Summit VII - Tuesday, May 3, 2011 - TELEVISION SUMMIT