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Perfecting Film Financiers' Liens in Copyrights
Financiers — perhaps as much as producers, directors and actors — are responsible for film industry successes. Without lenders and investors, films cannot be made. Typically, financiers provide funding in return for proceeds from the film, that is secured by a lien in favor of the financier. The lien usually functions as collateral against the borrower's repayment of the loan and compliance with other obligations under the financing agreement. If the borrower fails to meet its loan repayment obligations, the financier is entitled to foreclose on the collateral.
Unlike lending and investing in more traditional industries where there is a multiplicity of existing assets, liens in film financings frequently center on the underlying work's copyright, which is the crux of the film's value and frequently the only asset of importance to secure against. And given that financing is necessary at the incipiency of a film project, typically a copyright application on an as-yet unfinished script is all that exists.
Unfortunately, the law on how to perfect a lien in a copyright application is foggy at best. This article sketches out pitfalls of the current process for perfecting a lien on a copyright application, and potential steps that a financier may take to help perfect and protect a film investment.
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