Asked: I have Becky Pluth's book on Movie Clips That Teach and Train. In the book, Becky discusses permissions and references the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation. I have several training programs that I have been designing and am planning on utilizing video clips in them. The expense for the MPLC license seems very high for the minimal use I have in mind. I am working with a small non-profit and would end up spending more than $3,500 every year for a few short clips, plus the license doesn't cover television or news program content
I have contacted the source on one of the old TV clips and, again, for a 3-minute clip used perhaps
once for a very small audience, it is $250 and if I wanted to use it again after a year, I'd pay again (annual license only).
I see many of these clips are also available on YouTube, but I have to believe that they were put there without permissions. So even if I streamed it from YouTube, I would likely be in violation of copyrights.
I very much believe in the power of video for training, and especially using things that people may be familiar with and that have great production quality. But the licensing seems to be a real impediment.
Do you know of a resource that could help me with low-volume, low-usage permissions from both movies and TV?
Answered: You Tube is for personal viewing only. The bylaws are very clear that the sole purpose is for personal use. Thus permission is necessary. Those that put it on YouTube may not own the rights to do so (as you stated) so getting rights from them is not acceptable.
There is another possibility. The non-profit may have a license (it is very affordable for non-profits to have an annual license). If they do, you would be covered by their license.
You could also try www.movieclips.com; they have some clips that are available for use (limited) for $50/time.
The other option would be to get a one-time event license which would be fee-based by MPLC. I think I paid $300-600 for my workshops which were 3 days in length, although, as you noted, that license doesn't cover all media outlets.
You could always try to find clips that are covered under the umbrella license to use as an alternative. Here is another resource for you to find clips that might work: www.wingclips.com.
Getting rights is important; I so appreciate your integrity.
Becky Pike Pluth is the CEO of The Bob Pike Group.
