Licensing 101 will provide an overview of rights and clearances best practices in connection with television, film, and new media productions. Knowing how to navigate the layers of rights clearances will ensure your content is free and clear to be exploited in a legally compliant way. However, the hardest part of licensing is sometimes knowing what materials actually require clearance. Hence, this course will take a deep dive into outlining the many types of copyrighted materials typically used in creative content and attendees will walk away with a better eye for identifying what elements of their projects might require licensing.
Specific topics that will be covered include footage and image licensing, personality and likeness rights, rights of publicity, public domain, user generated content, artwork, logos, trademarked buildings, brands and products, quotes, book excerpts, speeches, union re-use fees, iconic characters and more. We’ll also briefly discuss commercial music clearances.
Instructor: Melissa Somosky
Senior Content Acquisition Manager @ Amazon Music
Melissa Somosky is currently Senior Content Acquisition Manager at Amazon Music. Prior to this, she was a Director of Global Rights at A+E Television Networks overseeing commercial music clearances and rights licensing. Melissa has also worked at the National Geographic Channel. She is also a 2016 graduate of the Women in Cable Television Rising Leaders Program. Melissa attended the College of William and Mary and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and American Studies in 2006.