Hiscox Clearance Procedures

Please read the following section carefully

• If the insured production carries any risk of libel, or a related legal problem, it is cleared; and
• All rights necessary to production, exhibition, and distribution in all media are secured before you fill in this form, or will be as soon as practicable. We must be informed of any rights problems related to material included in the insured production, as soon as you become aware of them, and you must seek advice on such problems from your own attorneys.

1. All necessary rights have been obtained, covering domestic and foreign territories, including any extensions and renewals, for all literary material (other than original and unpublished material) contained in the insured production. If full copyright is not obtained, any limitations and/or reservations must be notified to us. If you are acquiring the insured production as a completed work (such as a pick-up of a motion picture) rights must also be secured covering the completed work. The origin of all works on which the insured production is based must be traced and cleared in order to ascertain that you have all the required rights in the work.
2. Written agreements must exist between you and the creators, authors, writers and owners of all material, including quotations from copyrighted literary works, film, television, and audio clips, clips of pre-existing music, featured copyrighted props such as maps, etc, used in the insured production, authorizing you to use the material in the insured production (except in the case of approved 'fair dealing'). All agreements should include a waiver of so-called 'moral rights'.
3. If the subject matter of the insured production is potentially defamatory, or for any other reason legally contentious, it has been cleared by a suitably qualified libel attorney, as has any 'fair use' and all recommended changes have been made.
4. In the case of fictional characters, a full cast script clearance check has been carried out, also of business names, etc and again, all recommended changes have been made.
5. All contracts and releases must give you the right to market the insured production for use in all media and markets (e.g. DVD, video cassette, digital format, internet etc.). In particular, any gaps in respect of underlying rights must be notified.
6. Synchronization and performance licenses must be obtained from the composer or copyright owner of all music used in the insured production. Licenses are unnecessary if the music (and its arrangement) is in the public domain. Licenses must also be obtained from the owners of recordings for the use of previously recorded music.
7. If the insured production contains any film clips, you have obtained authorization to use the film clip from the owner of the clip who has the right to grant such authorization and have obtained authority from the owners of and contributors to the film clip e.g. underlying literary and musical rights, owners, actors, and musicians etc. All releases must give you the right to edit, add to and/or delete any or all of the material supplied by the releasor.
8. You must be sure that you or any of your partners or directors have not received any unsolicited submissions of any literary or dramatic material, programme ideas, formats or storylines from any third parties which are similar in content or style to the insured production. If you have, you must have a process for dealing with them and quit claims must be obtained where appropriate.
9. Any problems relating to the insured production which are not known at the time of completing this application form must be notified to us as soon as they arise.
10. Any bonus material, interviews or outtakes included on a DVD or any other media version of the production must go through the same clearance procedures as the insured production.
11. Any uses of copyrighted material in its renewal term must be authorized by persons or entities entitled by statute to renew.
12. All contracts, releases, grants of rights of every kind (including all prior grants in your chain of title) must authorize you to use the acquired material in your production and to assign or sublicense it in any form.