Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

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THE PROGRAM ANGLE
have afforded no protection to the station concerned. Suppose the
hiring company had been operating on a shoestring, as so many of
these film supply houses are. The damages would have been as-
sessed against the user in this case the station ; they in turn would
have relied on their guarantee from the distributor and passed on
the claim to him. Now, unless he has the money
implement his guarantee, the protection
and resources to
is not worth a cent. It is
like hiring a cripple, unseen, as a bodyguard simply because he says,
"I guarantee you will never be molested." Similarly if the hirer re-
lies only on a printed piece of paper from the "owner" without
checking into his rating and financial stability it is inviting trouble.
The claim will merely bounce right back into the hands of the user,
who after all is the person who caused the infringement.
Music rights are another thing which cause the television pro-
ducer or station operator a lot of trouble. The subject is complicated
by the fact that there are many different licenses to contend with in
the field. By the time that this book appears in print the discussions
with ASCAP The American Society of Composers and Publishers
will have been long settled. The general agreement for AM broad-
casters was simple, but now that television has come along to com-
plicate matters, the issues are more involved. In general under the
blanket license straight instrumental use is use of music by vocalists
not in costume, small groups in costume if not tied in with per-
formances in dialogue, scenery, or dancing routines. However, any
number which was originally written for an operetta, motion pic-
ture, or dramatic musical work must be specially licensed if used in
costume with scenery, dialogue, or dancing. Any special use which
dramatizes the title or words of the song requires special treatment.
The use of music for dramatic and non-dramatic public performances
is the thing which will cause the most trouble simply be-
cause it arises most often. This is particularly true in the case of
kinescope recordings. Here the field is highly
unstable due to the
various attitudes towards these recordings. The producer and sta-
tion operators regard them quite logically as a means of extending
the network operations of the broadcaster. In cases where the coax-
ial cable does not extend, a copy of the program is sent to affiliated