Who do you need to employ for clearance?

• A. A script clearance company to identify all potential legal problems, but they are not legal advice
• B. A lawyer who provides formal legal opinions
• C. A production assistant
• D. A marketing consultant

Answer: (A)

Clearance means identifying all potential rights and legal issues in a script before production, such as copyrighted text, music rights, trademarks, defamation, privacy, and location releases. A script clearance company specializes in systematically scanning a script and related materials, conducting rights searches, and delivering a clearance memo that flags problems and what needs to be licensed or removed. They are not providing formal legal advice; their role is to identify issues so you know what must be addressed. A lawyer can offer formal opinions and draft licenses, but the practical step of spotting and cataloging potential problems is best handled by a script clearance firm. A production assistant or a marketing consultant lacks the specialized expertise and processes to perform comprehensive clearance.