Documentary films are records of our culture. But our culture is full of legally protected objects - songs, films, signs, even logos or buildings. Sometimes filmmakers need to use pre-existing copyrighted material to tell a story. Sometimes they accidentally capture copyrighted work in their documentary footage. However,in order to distribute their documentaries, filmmakers must often clear the rights to every protected fragment of film or song - whether it is a focal point of the scene or merely an incidental or fleeting detail.

Filmmaker Chris Hegedus discusses how rights clearance practices have changed since the making of Don't Look Back. Ms. Hegedus is Lecturer, Film Studies Program, Yale University; her documentary film work includes Startup.com (Directors Guild Award for Best Documentary) and The War Room (Academy Award nomination, Best Documentary Film).