What is Chain of Title in Film?
The necessity of contracts in the filmmaking process.
Imagine you’re a first-time indie filmmaker. You’ve found a killer script, auditioned for your cast, assembled a volunteer crew, and hobbled together a budget. You dive into production, eager to capture that impulse of creativity.
And it turns out great! You edit together the raw footage, slap on some background music donated by friends, and bam—your first film is born.
Before you know it, word is getting around the indie circuit about your production prowess. Netflix and Amazon are now in a bidding war for your film. Your dreams are coming true. Things are moving fast. But wait—there’s one thing missing...
Everyone’s asking for your “chain of title.”
What the heck does that mean?
Remember when you fell in love with that script? Hired those actors? Synched that music? Turns out you need a contract with each and every one of those rights holders, to prove they actually gave you the rights and licenses you now purport to have—the rights you’re now trying to sell to a distributor. A handshake deal will not suffice.
All those rights—the copyrights to the underlying script, the publicity rights of the actors, the trademark rights to prominent product placements, the reproduction rights to the music—each represent a link in the chain, which collectively forms the chain of title to those rights.
No reputable distributor will agree to buy or license your film if you cannot produce the chain of title.
Why?
If even a single link in your chain of title is broken—say you never bothered to sign a written contract with your lead actress—the distributor could, for example, get sued by the actress for misappropriation of her publicity rights or even violation of her privacy rights, among other claims.
Before a distributor will even talk to you, many will require you to obtain what’s called “errors & omission” insurance (or “E&O” insurance) for your film to cover unforeseeable risks, like bogus infringement claims. An insurance provider will not offer you a policy if you cannot satisfy chain of title, and without an insurance policy, your film will not get distributed.
So what can you do?
The retroactive solution is to go back and secure written contracts with everyone you sourced creative content from—the writers, actors, crew, post-production team, people whose life stories are told in the film, the owners of prominently placed trademarks, and so on. Consult with an attorney who specializes in due diligence to ensure every link in the chain of title is strong.
The proactive solution is to prioritize contracts from now on as a critical step in the production process for the long-term health of the project, not a just luxury afforded by big-budget ballers.
For filmmakers, artistic talent is not enough to sustain a successful career in the entertainment industry—you must also develop a working knowledge of the legal underpinnings of the industry, which include copyrights, contracts, publicity rights, trademark rights, defamation, licensing, and so much more.
Or better yet, surround yourself with smart, capable team members who can do the job better and faster than you can, who can also teach you a few things along the way.
That’s what we do at Vivid IP. We are a team of attorneys who are obsessed with film. We love watching them. We love watching them get made. We can talk all day about emerging trends in pop culture AND in the U.S. Supreme Court. We believe in film as a means to shape culture, create jobs, and build dreams. Whether a chain of title is involved or not, our mission is to protect your dream.
Ready to get started? Drop us a message below.
