What is chain of title?
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Chain of title is a crucial concept that is often misunderstood or else neglected (to their peril) by producers. Chain of title addresses the question of whether a given producer actually has the right to develop, produce, distribute and otherwise exploit his/her film or grant others the right to do so. Your chain of title is the mountain of contracts and other legal documents that evidence the history of ownership pertaining to the production from the moment the idea for the film was conceived to putting the negative in the can to exploiting the finished product (theatrically, on t.v., home video, merchandising, etc). Who owns the copyright in the film? Who owns the screenplay upon which it was based? Who owns the exploitation rights? Has ownership ever changed hands? Your chain of title is what answers those questions. If there is a gap in the chain, it's a problem. How serious a problem depends in part on how far you have progressed in the production process. The further along you are in the process, the greater the problem...Many producers seeks to cut costs by cutting corners on chain of title. This is a disaster waiting to happen and is far more expensive to repair a gap in your chain of title later than it is to hire a lawyer to paper it properly for you at the outset and ensure that you have a "clean" chain.
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