Clearing Copyrighted Material Before Submitting Your Film to Festivals and Distribution

Film festivals, broadcasters, streaming platforms, and theatrical distributors all require that productions clear the copyrighted material they incorporate before submission or distribution. Clearance means obtaining the necessary rights — through licences, permissions, releases, or fair use analyses — for every third-party element appearing in the film: music, archive footage, photographs, trademarks, locations, identifiable persons, artworks. Missing clearance can block festival entry, void distribution contracts, void errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, and expose the producer to injunctions and damages claims.

This guide provides a practical clearance framework under Italian and EU law. For the broader copyright framework, see our master pillar guide to copyright law in Italy and Europe. For comprehensive cinema services, see our legal services for independent film producers.

Why clearance matters

Festival submission forms, broadcast acquisition agreements, and distribution contracts uniformly require warranties that the production has cleared all third-party material. Specifically:

• Festival entry forms: include warranties of rights clearance — false warranties can disqualify the production;
• Broadcaster acquisition: Italian broadcasters (Rai, Mediaset, Sky) and EU broadcasters require detailed chain of title documentation;
• Streaming platforms: Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and others apply rigorous clearance review before acquisition;
• E&O insurance: most insurers require clearance review before issuing or activating coverage. Without E&O coverage, distribution becomes practically impossible;
• Italian tax credit: D.I. MiC-MEF 225/2024 requires properly documented rights clearance as a condition for tax credit eligibility. See our tax credit guide.

Clearance categories

A typical feature film or documentary requires clearance across multiple categories:

• Music: synchronisation and master use licences for pre-existing recordings; original score commissioning agreements;
• Archive footage and stills: licences from archives, photographers, news agencies, stock libraries;
• Trademarks and brands: visible in scenes (logos, products, branded environments);
• Artworks: paintings, sculptures, posters visible in scenes;
• Locations: filming permissions, including cultural heritage authorisations where applicable;
• Persons depicted: image releases from identifiable individuals appearing on screen;
• Underlying literary works: rights to source material (novels, plays, articles) where the film is an adaptation;
• Quotation and citation: properly framed under Italian Article 70 LDA exceptions where licences are not obtained.

Music clearance

Music clearance is the most common — and most expensive — clearance category. Each piece of pre-existing recorded music requires:

• Synchronisation licence (sync): from the publisher of the underlying composition;
• Master use licence: from the record label or master rights holder;
• Performer authorisation: typically included in master use, but worth verifying;
• For Italian SIAE-managed catalogues: SIAE deals with composer rights for use in audiovisual works under specific tariffs;
• Cover versions: cover recordings of compositions require sync (from publisher) but typically not master use (the cover is the new master) — though the new master rights holder must be cleared.

For original score, a written composition agreement should specifically grant audiovisual rights for the production plus all standard ancillary uses (trailers, soundtrack album, promotional materials).

Archive footage and photographs

Archive footage and photographs require careful clearance because the chain of rights can be complex:

• Footage from broadcasters or news agencies: licences typically specify use, territory, and term;
• Stock footage: standard library licences (Getty, Pond5, etc.) with attention to scope;
• Photographs: photographer copyright (potentially photographic work under Article 2(7) LDA, or simple photograph under Articles 87-92 LDA — see our preventing image theft guide);
• Identifiable persons in archival material: image rights consent may be required;
• Family or personal archives: rights from family members and persons depicted;
• Public domain: where the work has entered public domain (typically 70 years post-mortem), no copyright clearance required, but cultural heritage and personality rights may still apply.

Documentary productions are particularly archive-intensive and require detailed footage logs with clearance status for every clip.

Trademarks, brands, and locations

Trademarks and brand depictions in films are typically managed through:

• Product placement agreements: positive depiction with commercial arrangements;
• Clearance for incidental depiction: in many cases, incidental and non-commercial appearance of trademarks does not require clearance, but borderline cases benefit from formal permissions;
• Negative depiction: where the brand is shown in negative light, defamation and unfair competition risks arise — clearance or modification is essential.

For Italian locations, filming permissions are obtained through municipal authorities, with additional requirements for:

• Cultural heritage sites under D.Lgs. 42/2004 (Soprintendenza authorisations);
• Private property (permissions from owners);
• Public infrastructure (specific authority approvals);
• Architectural works under copyright (see our freedom of panorama in Italy guide).

Persons depicted

Identifiable persons appearing in films require image releases under Articles 96-97 LDA and Article 10 Civil Code. Exceptions apply for public figures in their public capacity and incidental crowd shots — but commercial production substantially benefits from formal releases regardless. See our image release guide for the framework.

Modern releases should also address AI use of likeness (deaging, voice cloning, deepfake) under Italian Law 132/2025 and the EU AI Act.

Chain of title documentation

All clearance documentation should be organised in a comprehensive chain of title file, including:

• Music sync and master use licences;
• Archive footage and photograph licences;
• Trademark and product placement agreements;
• Filming permissions and Soprintendenza authorisations;
• Image releases from all identifiable persons;
• Author and screenwriter agreements with rights assignments;
• Production company chain of title to the audiovisual work;
• Errors and omissions insurance policy.

For comprehensive guidance on chain of title documents, see our chain of title checklist.

How DANDI supports producers

DANDI.media provides comprehensive clearance support to Italian and international film producers:

• Clearance strategy and risk assessment;
• Music synchronisation and master use licence negotiation;
• Archive footage and photograph licensing;
• Trademark and brand clearance, product placement agreements;
• Image release templates and negotiation;
• Soprintendenza and cultural heritage authorisations;
• Chain of title documentation;
• E&O insurance coordination;
• Pre-submission clearance review for festivals.

For consultation, book directly with Avv. Claudia Roggero or Avv. Donato Di Pelino.

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