Legal release

A legal release is a legal instrument that acts to terminate any legal liability between the releasor and the releasee(s) signed by the releasor. A release may also be made orally in some circumstances. Releases are routinely used by photographers, in film production, by documentary filmmakers, or by radio and music producers when they photograph, film, video or record the voice or performance of individuals to be sure that the person consents or will not later object to the material being used for whatever purpose the releasee (or anyone they may assign the release rights to) wishes, i.e. that the releasee wishes to use the images, sounds or any other rendering that is a result of the recording made of the releasor (or property owned by the releasor for which the releasor may claim some other right such as industrial design rights, trademark or trade dress rights). This will help in insuring the copyright owner has a clean chain of title for any work if it is later published, broadcast, shown in a public cinema or otherwise made public.
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