Michael C. Donaldson

Michael C. Donaldson
Born	Michael Cleaves Donaldson October 13, 1939 (1939-10-13) (age 72) Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Founder, Donaldson & Callif Entertainment attorney Public speaker Author

Michael C. Donaldson (born October 13, 1939) is an American entertainment attorney, independent film advocate and a recipient of the International Documentary Association's Amicus Award,^[1] an honor bestowed upon only two others, Steven Spielberg and John Hendricks, in the 25-year history of the awards.^[2] He is a proponent of the 165-year-old fair-use doctrine and, through its use, is known for saving documentarians hundreds of thousands of dollars while preserving their First Amendment rights.^[3]

In addition to serving as General Counsel to Film Independent (home of the Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival) and the Writers Guild of America/West Foundation,^[4] Donaldson practices at his Beverly Hills law firm, Donaldson & Callif, where, in 2008, entertainment attorney Lisa Callif became a named partner.^[5]

United States v. Stevens

Donaldson played a significant part in the Supreme Court of the United States’ United States v. Stevens case by arranging the amicus brief that was filed by four documentary film organizations whose members were directly affected by the Supreme Court’s decision – the International Documentary Association (IDA), Film Independent (FIND), the Independent Feature Project (IFP) and the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA).^[6]

The amicus brief was filed on behalf of a documentary filmmaker who made a film about the history of pit bulls and included a clip of dog fights in Japan, where dog fighting is legal. Filmmaker Robert Stevens was sentenced to three years in prison for violating a federal statute that criminalizes the depiction of cruelty to animals in film.^[7] As an "amicus" – a “friend” of the Court rather than a party to the action – the organizations urged the Court to rule in favor of Stevens because of the case’s First Amendment implications.

On April 20, 2010, the United States Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of voiding a 1999 animal cruelty law in favor of free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[8]

Chevron v. Joe Berlinger

Donaldson prepared an amicus brief in support of filmmaker Joe Berlinger, who was ordered to hand over some 600 hours of raw footage shot in connection with his documentary Crude. Chevron Corporation requested the footage, intending to use it to defend itself in an Ecuadorian class-action lawsuit (filed against it for environmental contamination to the Amazon rainforest) as well as to help fend off the threatened criminal prosecution of two of its attorneys in the litigation.^[9]

The brief was prepared pro bono by Donaldson’s firm and filed in an effort to protect against the potentially devastating consequences the subpoena could have on the role documentary filmmakers play in providing independent information on human rights and social issues through their use of the First Amendment right known as Reporters' Privilege. A number of industry organizations and individuals signed on to the brief, including Film Independent, IFP Inc., Alex Gibney and Eddie Schmidt (President of the International Documentary Association).^[10]

Actor, Director, and Environmental Activist, Robert Redford, who as well supports Berlinger, has made his thoughts on the issue known in public media platforms.^[11]

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

On July 26, 2010, the United States Copyright Office ruled that documentary filmmakers would be exempt from the provisions of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998) that criminalize the act of circumventing electronic and digital copyright protection systems when ripping material from DVDs. The exemption was the result of an action spearheaded by Donaldson who assembled a coalition of award-winning documentarians and filmmaker organizations and provided pro bono legal council for the legal request.^[12]

Prior to the ruling, documentary filmmakers were forced to use technically inferior methods to obtain copyrighted material permitted them by the fair use doctrine in United States copyright law. The exemption allows documentarians to legally obtain portions of encrypted or digitally locked material from DVDs for non-infringing use in their films.^[13]

The exemption will be in effect through October of 2012, at which time the next DMCA rulemaking will take place and the filmmakers’ exemption will be up for renewal.^[12]

Net Neutrality

Donaldson assisted in the effort to ensure that documentary filmmakers have the same rights as major studios in terms of the speed at which their films will be able to travel the Internet. He, along with Jack I. Lerner and the USC Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic, organized the efforts on a pro bono bases in support of the principle termed Net Neutrality. The fight was led by the International Documentary Association and was supported by such additional organizations as Film Independent, University Film & Video Association, Independent Filmmaker Project, Independent Feature Project Chicago, IFP Minnesota and National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture.

On January 2, 2011, the FCC ruled in favor of Net Neutrality in a 3-to-2 vote.^[14]

Lee & William Storey v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

In support of the documentary film community's tax status, Donaldson, along with his firm's team of attorneys, prepared an amicus brief on a pro bono basis urging the United States Tax Court to recognize that documentary films are overwhelmingly undertaken in the pursuit of a profit. It was filed in response to the Internal Revenue Service’s challenge of filmmaker Lee Storey’s business expenses associated with his documentary Smile ‘Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story.

During Storey's March 2011 trial, a judge expressed an inclination to hold that documentaries are intended to “educate and expose” rather than make a profit.

If documentary filmmaking were to be viewed by the IRS as merely a means to persuade or entertain – and not intended to turn a profit – documentarians would no longer be able to claim deductions incurred in the production of such films.^[15]

As an author

Donaldson's Clearance & Copyright: Everything the Independent Filmmaker Needs to Know is used as a textbook in over 50 college and university film schools across America. He is also the author of Negotiating for Dummies, which has been translated into 9 languages, as well as Do It Yourself! Trademarks & Copyrights and Fearless Negotiating: The Wish, Want, Walk Method To Reaching Agreements That Work.^[4] In 2010, Donaldson released The American Bar Association's Legal Guide To Independent Filmmaking, which he co-authored with his partner Lisa A. Callif.^[16]

Bibliography

• The E-Z Legal Guide to Trademarks & Copyrights (1995)
• Do It Yourself! Trademarks & Copyrights (1995)
• Clearance & Copyright: Everything the Independent Filmmaker Needs to Know (1996)
• Negotiating for Dummies (1996)
• Negotiating for Dummies 2nd Edition (2007)
• Fearless Negotiating: The Wish, Want, Walk Method To Reaching Agreements That Work (2007)
• Clearance & Copyright: Everything You Need to Know for Film and Television (2008)
• The American Bar Association's Legal Guide To Independent Filmmaking (2010) (by Michael C. Donaldson & Lisa A. Callif)

References

1. ^ "Documentarians, DVDs and the MPAA". Los Angeles Times. 2009-05-11. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/05/documentaries-dvd-dmca-exemption.html. Retrieved 2009-12-30. 
2. ^ "IDA to Honor Michael Donaldson with 2009 Amicus Award". International Documentary Association. 2009-11-18. http://www.documentary.org/content/ida-honor-michael-donaldson-2009-amicus-award. Retrieved 2009-12-30. 
3. ^ Dutka, Elaine (2006-05-28). "FILM; Legendary Film Clips: No Free Samples?". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD8103EF93BA15756C0A9609C8B63&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2009-12-30. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Documentary Film Program Advisory Board". Stanford Law School. 2007-03-02. http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/projects/documentary-film-program/advisory-board. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 
5. ^ "Staffing Roundup: WWE, Lucasfilm Name GCS". The Hollywood Reporter. 2008-01-08. http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/staffing/page/3/. Retrieved 2010-03-04. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Harris, Paul (2010-04-21). "Law Banning Video of Animal Cruelty Struck Down". Variety (magazine). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018075.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
7. ^ "Supreme Court Overturns Animal Cruelty Video Ban: Ruling Could Spur New 'Crush' Videos". The Huffington Post. 2010-04-20. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/20/supreme-court-overturns-a_n_544307.html. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
8. ^ Certeriorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. [1]
9. ^ Johnson, Ted (2010-06-24). "'Crude' director gains support in Chevron suit". Variety (magazine). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118020991.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2010-07-08. 
10. ^ "Amicus Brief Filed in Support of Joe Berlinger". Filmmaker (magazine). 2010-07-06. http://filmmakermagazine.com/news/2010/07/amicus-brief-filed-in-support-of-joe-berlinger/. Retrieved 2010-07-08. 
11. ^ "Joe Berlinger vs. Chevron: Why We Must All Defend Independent Filmmaking". The Huffington Post. 2010-06-04. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-redford/joe-berlinger-vs-chevron_b_600433.html. Retrieved 2010-07-08. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "Jailbreak: New Gov't Rules Allow Antipiracy Workarounds". The Hollywood Reporter. 2010-07-26. http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/copyright-office-exemptions-circumvention.html. Retrieved 2010-07-26. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ "Fed Ruling Lets Doc Makers Legally Rip DVDs". The Wrap. 2010-07-27. http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/fed-ruling-lets-doc-makers-legally-rip-dvds-19579. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
14. ^ "Documentary Filmmakers Win Neutrality on the Net". Yahoo! News. 2011-01-03. http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20110104/bs_prweb/prweb4924264_1. Retrieved 2011-01-18. 
15. ^ "Documentaries Supposed to Make Money, Court Told". The New York Times. 2011-06-13. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/documentaries-supposed-to-make-money-court-told/. Retrieved 2011-07-16. 
16. ^ "Book Review: The ABA's Legal Guide to Independent Filmmaking by Michael C. Donaldson and Lisa A. Callif". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2011-01-09. http://www.seattlepi.com/books/433094_151233-blogcritics.org.html. Retrieved 2011-01-21. 

External links

• Official Site
• Donaldson & Callif

Persondata
Name	Donaldson, Michael C.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1939-10-13
Place of birth	Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death