Is it free to use BBC material, such as news reel and archive footage, in your own commercial film production?

[singingkaz]

Is it free to use BBC material, such as news reel, drama and archive footage, in your own commercial film production?

[Ethel]

You will need to get the permission of the BBC to use such material

[singingkaz]

But I wonder what rights do the british public have, or TV licence payers, in funding the BBC, to the material thats produced.

[Postdog]

Er, none - as Ethel said, you'd need to seek permission.

[fredpuli47]

Or putting it another way, you'd like, as a taxpayer and TV licence payer, to profit, in a commercial enetrprise, from the BBC's property LOL Wouldn't we all?

No, the BBC has rights over the material as well as the right to refuse others use of their material (whether they charge for it or not in any particular case). Indeed, the BBC makes a lot of money from this, especially drama, (to the benefit of taxpayers and TV licence payers!)