What kind of questions do you answer?
We are here to answer legal information questions for students and professionals regarding their legal rights and obligations in relation to the film, television, and theatre industries.
Examples:
“I want to feature a brand or trade-marked object in an upcoming film. What are the relevant laws?”
“Where can I find best health and safety practices for Ontario film, television, and theatre employers?”
“What is the purpose of registering my work with the copyright office?”
Why Canada only?
Queen’s Law is Canadian! We are located at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Law is highly regionalized: the laws simply aren’t the same from one country to the next (and sometimes from one region to the next). We are offering this service because it can be hard to get a clear idea of what the law is. Similarly, we can’t offer this service outside of Canada – the law we are studying does not apply to jurisdictions outside of Canada.
Why are you doing this?
We love the law, and we want to help you understand your rights and obligations as industry professionals. Legal research is a specialized skill, and it can be easy to pull up false or incorrect information – especially on the Internet, and especially when U.S. law tends to dominate the media. Our team believes in promoting access to justice, which includes providing accurate public legal education in plain language form.
Why should I use this service?
As law students, we have an intricate understanding of the technical aspects of how the law operates and the language of the legal world. General internet searches often result in incorrect or misleading answers to legal information questions. Our research can help you get a better understanding of what your rights and obligations are in relation to your creative projects.
How do I know you’ve given me the right answer?
We are supervised by a team of alumni and faculty who make sure that all of our answers are sound and well-researched.
Are you lawyers? Is this legal advice?
We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. We are law students, not licensed to practice law, and this research is being done to provide professionals in the film, television, and theatre industry with a general idea of their rights under the laws related to copyright, trademarks and branding, business, and health and safety obligations. For more information, please review the PBSC disclaimer.