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NDY2 Creative Media ProductionUnit 8: Understanding the Television and Film Industries

Tutors: Faustina Starrett & James McGarrigleStudents: Natasha Curry

Contractual, Legal and Ethical Obligations in Television and Film Outcomes P3: Understand the contractual, legal and ethical obligations in

the television and film industries

Types of ContractThere are two types of contract that are most commonly used within the Film and Television industries, these are Confidentiality and Exclusivity.

ConfidentialityA confidentiality contract; also know as a non-disclosure agreement, is a contract that was developed to keep certain information about a production, process or product out of the media. Two or more parties usually enter into these types of contracts and can be prosecuted if the issuing party feels that the contract has been breached. A confidentiality contract outlines the information that can and cannot be shared with the public/other companies, the type of information that can be deemed confidential is limitless and up to the desecration of the issuer.

Above is an extract example of a confidentiality contract used within the Film and Television industries.

A Confidentiality Contract is also know to cover salary, this means if you are asked to sign a Confidentiality Contract around your salary it will prevent you from talking about how much money you earn with other colleagues. These contracts have been put in place to protect the organisation you are working for.

Contractual, Legal and Ethical Obligations 1



ExclusivityAn Exclusivity contract is similar in nature to a confidentiality contract, however an exclusivity contract was developed in order to ensure any employee that signs, agrees to work exclusively for one company to the exclusion of all others

until their contract ends, failure to do so may result in suspension of pay or termination of contract. For example: if a Screenwriter/Song Writer is hired by a production company and is asked to sign an exclusivity contract, the Writer agrees to work exclusively with that company until their contract ends, they are not permitted to use their skills to work for another company whilst under an exclusivity contract.

Above is an extract example of an exclusivity contract for a Song Writer that is commonly used within the Film and Television industries.

Employment LegislationEmployment Legislation covers laws and measures put in place to ensure that employees do not suffer from dangerous or unhealthy working environments. Employment Legislation covers a wide variety of different rules and regulations, these include:

Health and SafetyThe health and safety legislation applies to all work activities within the UK, whether conducted by UK nationals or foreigners, even if they are not being paid. The legal duties under health and safety law cannot be delegated.

Employers in the media industries are required to have a management system in place to control the possibility of risk to employees from their work. The media industry uses a large number of independent and freelance workers, this sometimes makes it difficult to decide who the employer is. In the majority of cases the employer will be the producer or production company.




The size and the complexity of management systems for the health and safety sector depend upon the size and complexity of the production. An employer’s legal duty of managing the health and safety sector cannot be delegated to a consultant or to anyone else during production.

Risk assessment is a fundamental part of managing health and safety, this helps you to identify hazards and control risks they create for those involved in your production. This process requires you to:

Take time to look at your activities Decide what hazards they may present Asses the risk of people being exposed to such hazards Find ways to eliminate or control them in the workplace.

It is important for an employer to review and update both the risk assessments and controls you put in place as the work progresses, this is to make sure they are still working efficiently. Once production is completed it is a good idea to review the entire system to ensure that useful lessons can be learned for the future.

For example the BBC have a strict policy regarding accident and incident reporting, guidelines for health and safety, a risk assessment procedure and security policy. Employees of the BBC are required to abide by these rules and know the policies in order to help the BBC ensure the working environment is safe.

Another example would be from I project that I had the opportunity of Producing and Directing. In September 2015 I had the opportunity to work with a local band Connla, I was in charge of producing and directing a music video for the launch of their debut album. Before we could begin filming, I was in charge of conducting a risk assessment for both house and beach scenes. This was to outline any of the possible risks and prevent unnecessary injury during shoots.

Above is an example of the risk assessment that I carried out before we shot the beach scenes of the music video.




Equal OpportunitiesThe Equal Opportunities act was put in place to ensure that employers are committed to treating all employees or job applicants in the same manner despite any of the following:

Gender Martial Status Family Status Religious Belief Disability Age Race Sexual Orientation Membership of the traveller community

Employers are required to be committed to the promotion of the Equal Opportunities act by:

Preventing any form of direct or indirect discrimination and or victimization

Promoting equal opportunities in the work place for both men and women

Promoting equal opportunities in the work place for people of all religions and or none

Promoting equal opportunities for people with a disability Promoting equal opportunities for people regardless of their age Promoting equal opportunities for people regardless of their race, colour,

nationality or ethnicity Promoting equal opportunities for those with membership or non-

membership in the traveller community Promoting equal opportunities for people regardless of their sexual

orientation Promoting a good and harmonious working environment, where every

member of staff are treated with respect and dignity, in which no form of discrimination, bullying or harassment will be tolerated under any circumstances

Fulfilling all legal obligations under the Employability legislation and associated codes of practice

Under the Equal Opportunities Act 2010 all employers must follow these guidelines to ensure that the workplace is a safe environment for all employees.

Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006The employment equality (age) regulations were introduced on 1 October 2006. These regulations were brought in to help prevent the following:

Discriminatory procedures in the workplace on the grounds of age – this includes workers of all ages

To outlaw age-related harassment in the workplace along the same lines as the current gender equality legislation

To outlaw all workplace benefits that are age-related To remove the age limits for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights




To help ban the unjustified retirement ages below the age of 65 To set a default retirement age of 65, allowing companies to set the

retirement age at 65 or above To give workers approaching the age of 65 the right to request to

continue working beyond this age Retirement is kept under review after the official retirement date.

Employers must give 6 months notice of their intention to retire an employee and the employee has a continuing right to request to continue working.

This act has since been replaced by the equality act of 2010, which still requires employers to follow these regulations.

Employers Liability In the media industry Employers Liability covers the cast and crew for any bodily harm or injury in the event of an accident on set during production. It is the producer’s responsibility to provide cover for those employed, contracting, paid or unpaid workers during production.

All employers within the UK are required by law to have Employers Liability Insurance; this helps protect the employer in respect of any claims made against them by employees. This also helps the employer (Producer) with legal liability with personal injury or illness suffered by employees during the course of their employment. The legislation (Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969) requires that an employer (Producer) have a minimum level of cover of £5 million, however insures often provide a limit of £10 million as standard cover.

The insurance an employer takes out should cover the following: Equipment: All risks of physical loss or damage to equipment including

whilst in transit. However this does not include loss from theft due to unattended equipment and or acts of fraud are excluded from cover

Footage: Damage or loss of negatives and videotapes Employers Liability: To provide indemnity in resect of any legal liability

to pay compensation in the case of death, disease or bodily harm to employees during production

Public Liability: In the event of any accidental bodily harm/injury to any person or damage to property.

A producer should make sure that the insurance company is willing to cover all of these things before agreeing to any form of contract with the company.

Employee RightsThe employment rights act 1996, which was brought into force on 22 August 1996, sets out statutory employment rights of employees. If the employment rights are breached The Employment Rights Act gives power to a tribunal in order to gather compensation for employees. The Employment Rights Act covers a range of employee rights such as the following:

The right to receive a written statement of the terms and conditions of your employment

A right to not be unfairly dismissed from employment




Maternity rights Redundancy provisions which includes the right to redundancy pay A minimum notice period for dismissal and reasons for dismissal Protection of your wages Protection from suffering harm in the workplace Time off work for public/family duties

If any of these regulations are breached, the employee will be entitled to compensation pay from their place of work.

Belonging to a Trade UnionA trade union is an organized association of workers in a trade, a group of traders or profession, formed to protect and further the rights and interests of employees.

BECTU is the number one trade union for the UK’s media and entertainment industries. BECTU covers a wide range of sectors in the media industry such as: broadcasting, film, independent production, theatre and the arts. Also covered are the leisure and digital media sectors. The union represents full-time, part-time, permanent and freelance workers who are based primarily in the UK.

BECTU provides a wide range of services for its 25,000 members, including the following:

Helping to negotiate pay, conditions and contracts with employers Providing personal advice and representation for individual members Providing advice and representation on matters of health and safety Benefits and services for BECTU members Providing training support and courses for individual members Networking events and career development opportunities A union journal, stage screen and radio, published sixe times per annum A website designed to improve access to the union’s advice and support

centersMembership for BECTU is voluntary and anyone working or seeking work in the Media industry can join the BECTU union online.

The key aims of BECTU union are to: Protect the jobs of individual members Increase membership with the union Win new recognition agreements Improve pay and conditions of service, including pensions for all of their

members

After researching BECTU as a trade union I have come to the conclusion that this is a union that I would like to be a part of.

Intellectual Property The term Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind, these include any artistic or literary works, such as, designs, artwork, films, writing, etc. as well as symbols and names that may be used in commerce.




Intellectual Property is protected in law by the following:

CopyrightCopyright law protects the creator’s work and stops others from using it without the creator’s permission.

Copyright law immediately comes into play when you create: Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, this includes

illustration and photography Original non-literary written work, such as: software, web content and

databases Sound and music recordings Film and television recordings Broadcasts The layout of published works, such as: written, dramatic and musical

Often a creator will mark their work with the copyright symbol ©, their name and the year they created it. However marking or not marking does not affect the level of protection you have under copyright law.

Copyright law prevents people from: Copying your work Distributing copies of your work, whether free of for sale Renting out or lending copies of your work Performing, showing or playing copies of your work in public Making adaptations of your work Putting your work on the internet

Unless the creator of the work has given permission of use, under copyright law the use of the creators work is illegal and can result in a fine or lawsuit.

I feel that the Connla project that I undertook in September 2015 would come under my Intellectual Property, this is a project that I would like to have copyright ownership of.

TrademarksA trademark is something that allows people to distinguish goods or services of a certain business from those of another. The law can protect trademarks when they are registered and even when not by virtue of the law of passing off.

The relationship between trademarks and the film industry has always been that of a close one. A great example of this is the use of Apple products is films and TV shows, such as: Captain America: The Winter Solider and the TV series Modern Family.

Product placement is a source of funding in exchange for exposure. The use of trademarks comes by agreement and many filmmakers fear that their film will be seen as a platform for the promotion of products. If a company does not give their permission to use their product then the film maker may have to find




another company, for example: without Aston Martin’s permission the famous James Bond car could have ended up being a Jag or Range Rover.

Other forms of Intellectual Property – Passing OffEven is a filmmaker is careful as to not feature any registered trademarks they can still be liable for “passing off”. This is because registered and unregistered trademarks attract the protection of their reputation under the common law to prevent copyright. If a production company were to use a mark, costume or design similar to that of an exiting product which will result in confusion of the products origin, the production company can be found liable to a claim of passing off, if this is likely to cause damage to rights holder. An example of damage to the rights holder would be the loss of sales or loss or reputation.

Ethical ObligationEthical obligations while less likely to be required by law, contractual and employment legislation, they are equally important. If a production company does not behave ethically, there could be financial or legal repercussions.

Codes of PracticeCodes of practice set out how employees are required to act. Though not legally binding, their purpose is stop employees from behaving unethically towards co-workers and ensuring the creator of a piece of content behaves in an ethical way according to Ethical obligation standards.

Policies and ProceduresProduction companies will also have a number of policies and procedures in order to maintain and encourage ethical practice. These policies and procedures can relate to business conduct, recruitment, employment and record management. The policies and procedures in place are often informed by legislation such as: health and safety and equal opportunities laws.

Emerging Social Concerns and ExpectationsA company’s/production company’s policies may be extended to dealing with emerging social concerns, such as the treatment of people with disabilities, mental illness, the sexual exploitation of children and empowering women. For example: if wee look at Channel 4, they are committed to highlighting issues around those with disabilities and mental illness. Channel 4 broadcast the Paralympics and have commissioned a wide range of programmes that will shed light on people with disabilities and their lives, they have also broadcast a few programmes that deal with people who suffer from mental illness in a bid to try and stamp out the stigma around it.

RepresentationThe media will always have different representations for different social groups when it comes to their programming, These different social groups include:

Individuals Groups




Religions Issues

However often broadcasters and production companies will come under scrutiny if any of these social groups have been represented unfairly. For example:

Channel 4 have come under scrutiny in the past fro their representation of the traveler community with their series titled “My Big Fat Gypsy Weeding”. This programme sheds bad light on the traveller community and erupted in a twitter overload of the public ridiculing cast members because of their names and their community. With no attempt to cull the cyber bullying Channel 4 continued with the series.

Director Michael Bay, Paramount pictures and DreamWorks have been criticized for their misrepresentations of racial groups. With twin robots Mudflaps and Skids from the transformers franchise being deemed as racist representation of the African American community, as their voices resemble that of urban black stereotypes. Michael Bay, Paramount and DreamWorks have obviously denied any racist representations in the films and saying “he made the characters to appeal to kids”

LegalThis refers to laws that have been put in place to protect workers, employers are obligated to follow these laws.

The Race Relations Act 1976 (and amendments)The Race Relations Act 1976 and amendments 2000 make it unlawful to treat a person less favorably than others on racial grounds. This act covers the grounds of race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) and national or ethnic origin.

This act outlawed discrimination, direct or indirect and victimization in all public authority functions. It also placed a general duty on specified public authorities to promote race equality and good race relations.

The Broadcasting Act 1990 and 1996 At present time there are two Broadcasting Acts in existence: the Broadcasting Act 1990 and 1996.

The Broadcasting Act 1990 – This Broadcasting Act has been superseded by the Government’s White Paper on Communications, because anything that is taken from paper will be turned into a new Act of Parliament. However when this Act first began the first steps to deregulations in British Broadcasting and reversed the restrictions imposed on ownership of the ITV Franchises.

The Broadcasting Act 1996 – This Act helped establish regimes for the introduction of the digital terrestrial broadcasting and media ownership guidelines, which were established in 1990.

o Part 1 of the act is applicable to televisiono Part 2 of the act is applicable to radioo Part3 of the act makes changes to the 1990 act




o Part 4 of the act sets out a clause ensuring the licensing fee paying public have the right to see certain ‘listed sporting events at no extra cost’

o Part 5 of the act sets out a merger of the Broadcasting Standards Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission from the Broadcasting Standards Commission

o Part 6 of the act covers the transfer of property, rights and liabilities relating to the BBC networks and states that the BBC have three main task they have to follow:- To produce codes of practice relating to the standards and

fairness- To consider and adjudicate on complaints- To monitor, research and report on the standards and fairness

in broadcasting o Part 7 of the act deals with copyright law and related matters o Part 8 of the act deals with lists of miscellaneous provisions

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964The law makes it an offense to publish any content whose effect will “deprave and corrupt” those likely to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied, whether for gain or not. This could include the publications of images of extreme sexual activity such as bestiality, necrophilia, rape or torture.

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 – This is an act to help amend the law relating to the publication or obscene matter and to provide protection for literature; and strengthen the law concerning pornography

The Obscene Publications Act 1964 – This is an act to help strengthen the law for preventing the publication for gaining of obscene matter and the publication of things intended for the production of obscene matter

BBFC – British Board of Film Classification “The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984”The BBFC was set up by the film industry to bring uniformity to the classification of films. However statutory powers still remain within local councils, This means the BBFC’s decisions may be overruled by passing films they have rejected, banning films they have passed, waving cuts, instituting new ones or altering categories for films under their own licensing jurisdictions.

“In 1984 Parliament passed the Video Recordings Act. This act stated that, subject to certain exemptions, video recordings offered for sale or hire commercially in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Secretary of State. The President and Vice Presidents of the BBFC were so designated, and charged with applying the new test of ‘suitability for viewing in the home’. At this point the




Board’s title was changed to the British Board of Film Classification to reflect the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the BBFC’s work than censorship”

OFCOMOfcom is the UK’s communications regulator. They help regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.

Ofcom make sure that the people of the UK get the best from their communications services and are protected from scams and sharp practices, whilst still ensuring that competition can thrive. Ofcom operate under a number of Act of Parliament, this includes in particular the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom must act within the powers and duties set for it by Parliament in legislation.

Fees from industry for helping regulate their broadcasting and communications networks, and grant-in-aid from the Government fund Ofcom.

ConclusionAfter researching and completing this assignment I feel I now have a better understanding on the contractual, legal and ethical obligations that have been put into place in the Film and Television industries.

Bibliography Confidentiality Contract Information - David V. Radack, Eckert Seamans

Cherin & Mellot. http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/matters/matters-9405.html

Extract of Confidentiality Contract – Black Burner Films, Non-Disclosure Agreement. http://backburnerfilms.com/Non-Disclosure Agreement.pdf

Exclusivity Contract Information – Pete Turner, Exclusivity Contract, April 2013. http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/contractual-obligations-when-working-in.html

Extract of Exclusivity Contract – Contracts for Film, TV and Music Productions.http://www.ispgroupinc.com/contracts/contract_samples.htm

Health & Safety Legislation – HSE, Health & Safety Executive. http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/film.htm

BBC Health & Safety Policies http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi/publication-scheme/classes/policies-and-procedures

Equal Opportunities Act 2010 – Legislation.gov http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/web_notes/ldms/pubstatbook.nsf/f932b66241ecf1b7ca256e92000e23be/7CAFB78A7EE91429CA25771200123812/$FILE/10-016a.pdf

Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 – Flexibility Ltd. 2000 – 2015.


http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/web_notes/ldms/pubstatbook.nsf/f932b66241ecf1b7ca256e92000e23be/7CAFB78A7EE91429CA25771200123812/$FILE/10-016a.pdf



http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi/publication-scheme/classes/policies-and-procedures

http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi/publication-scheme/classes/policies-and-procedures

http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/film.htm

http://www.ispgroupinc.com/contracts/contract_samples.htm

http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/contractual-obligations-when-working-in.html

http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/contractual-obligations-when-working-in.html

http://backburnerfilms.com/Non-Disclosure%20Agreement.pdf

http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/matters/matters-9405.html



http://www.flexibility.co.uk/flexwork/general/age-discrimination-2006.htm

Employer’s Liability – BBC, Film Network, Showcasing New British Filmmaking.http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/insurance

Employee Rights Act 1996 – Legislation.gov http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents

Belonging to a Trade Union – BECTU Unionhttps://www.bectu.org.uk/home

Intellectual Property Definition – World Intellectual Property Organisation. http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/

Copyright Legislation – GOV.UKhttps://www.gov.uk/copyright/overview

Trademark Legislation and Passing Off – Own-it.orghttp://www.own-it.org/knowledge/using-other-people-s-trade-marks-in-your-film-or-performance

Codes of Practice, Policies and Procedures & Social Concerns and Expectations. http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ethical-obligations-in-tv-film.html

Channel 4’s Misrepresentation of the Travelling Community.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2101987/Big-Fat-Gypsy-Weddings-just-big-fat-gypsy-mistake-says-Ian-Hyland.html

Racial Controversy in Transformers Movies.http://www.slashfilm.com/no-one-wants-to-own-up-to-racism-in-transformers/

Race Relations Act 1976 and Amendments – Institute.NHS.UKhttp://www.institute.nhs.uk/building_capability/breaking_through/race_relations.html

The Broadcasting Act 1990 – Legislation.govhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/42

The Broadcasting Act 1996 – Legislation.govhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/55/contents

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964 – IWF, Internet Watch Foundation. https://www.iwf.org.uk/hotline/the-laws/criminally-obscene-adult-content/obscene-publications-act-1959-and-1964

BBFC British Board of Film Classification http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc

Ofcom Independent Regulator and Competition Authorityhttp://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/what-is-ofcom/


http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/what-is-ofcom/

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc

https://www.iwf.org.uk/hotline/the-laws/criminally-obscene-adult-content/obscene-publications-act-1959-and-1964

https://www.iwf.org.uk/hotline/the-laws/criminally-obscene-adult-content/obscene-publications-act-1959-and-1964

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/55/contents

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/42

http://www.institute.nhs.uk/building_capability/breaking_through/race_relations.html

http://www.institute.nhs.uk/building_capability/breaking_through/race_relations.html

http://www.slashfilm.com/no-one-wants-to-own-up-to-racism-in-transformers/

http://www.slashfilm.com/no-one-wants-to-own-up-to-racism-in-transformers/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2101987/Big-Fat-Gypsy-Weddings-just-big-fat-gypsy-mistake-says-Ian-Hyland.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2101987/Big-Fat-Gypsy-Weddings-just-big-fat-gypsy-mistake-says-Ian-Hyland.html

http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ethical-obligations-in-tv-film.html

http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ethical-obligations-in-tv-film.html

http://www.own-it.org/knowledge/using-other-people-s-trade-marks-in-your-film-or-performance

http://www.own-it.org/knowledge/using-other-people-s-trade-marks-in-your-film-or-performance

https://www.gov.uk/copyright/overview

http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/

https://www.bectu.org.uk/home

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/insurance

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/insurance



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