Copyright Aid

Hi all
I'm making a documentary about the impact the roads has on our lives.
As part of this, our primary contributor has permitted us to look at all their legal files and talk about her sister, who was tragically killed in a car crash the day before her 2nd birthday in 1988. I have found two old local newspaper cuttings in the files which refer to the crash.

My questions are therefore -
Can I use the headlines, cropped in and close up, in the documentary, naming the paper and author, for no more than a few seconds each, under fair use?
If I want to show a selected small bit of text from the report, would that come under fair use?
Or should I just presume I need permission and get a researcher to contact the paper if they still exist?
Or/and just presume it needs to be checked for legal position anyway, and try to hope I can afford it!
On a side note - should I use my entertainment lawyer to do that or is it best to find a dedicated copyright lawyer and hope it doesn't cost a fortune?
Thanks
Andy

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum,

With the headlines, you are probably on reasonably strong ground, provided that the text is under, say, ten words. This assessment is based on avery well-known (in legal and journalistic circles at least) legal case called Infopaq.
However quoting the headline and small snippets would cumulatively take it beyond fair dealing, I believe, and so your safest option is to get a licence. You don't need to seek out the publishers of the paper if they are represented by the Newspaper Licensing Agency as the NLA should be able to deal with your request.
I don't think you need to involve any lawyers, but if you wish to do so, for instance if the NLA can't issue a licence for whatver reason, then you should really consult someone with media and IP experience. You find a suitably qualified solicitor via the Law Society website. Just select 'Media, IT and Intellectual Property from the drop down list under Your legal Issue.

I hope that helps.