Recording Policy

Effective Date: September 1, 2022

Anime Expo®, anime expo® chibi, and the SPJA reserve the right to modify and/or update this policy at any time in their sole discretion and without prior notice.

Recordings of You: You are advised and given notice that SPJA permits people and companies to take photographs and make recordings at SPJA Events, and post them on social media and use them for many lawful purposes. By attending an SPJA Event, you agree to be photographed or recorded during the Event (in still photographs, audio recordings, video recordings and any other media, now known or hereafter discovered, hereafter “Recordings”), by attendees, vendors, and others without compensation.

Additionally, by attending an SPJA Event, you grant to SPJA the rights, but not the obligation, to create photographs, video, digital, audio, or other recordings, including the Live Simulcast & Broadcast (“SPJA Recordings”) of you and grant SPJA the right to reproduce, display, distribute, perform, digitize, transmit, broadcast and otherwise use the SPJA Recordings in any and all media and manners now known or hereafter discovered throughout the world in perpetuity, in whole or in part, modified or altered, either by themselves, or in combination with other photographs, recordings or materials, without payment of royalties, license fees, or any other compensation. SPJA will hold the copyright to the SPJA Recordings. To the extent you have any rights in the SPJA Recordings, you hereby assign all your rights, title and interests in and to the SPJA Recordings to SPJA.

Your Recordings of Others for Personal/Private Use with Small Handheld or Cell Phone Camera: Except as prohibited below, individuals may make Recordings for private listening/viewing, without the need to obtain a Filming Location Agreement from SPJA, provided that such Recordings clearly identify the Event, date, and location at which they were Recorded. You are generally allowed to make Recordings in all common areas of the Event, with the exception of the Art Show, backstage, and restricted areas. Specific rules and restrictions regarding Recordings apply to specific venues, concerts, and Events, such as when a Guest of Honor prohibits photographs of their performance. If you are unsure, please check for signage, and if you do not see any, be respectful and do not make Recordings.

As a courtesy, and without changing this policy in any way, please obtain permission first to make Recordings of any individuals or costumes. If someone asks or otherwise indicates that they do not wish to be recorded, do not record them. The SPJA will make reasonable efforts to enforce this policy, but given the proliferation of recording devices and the ease with which Event attendees may conceal their recording devices, it is understood and agreed that SPJA shall not be liable for violations.

Your Recordings of Others for Commercial Purposes: Recordings of an SPJA Event or its employees, staff, or attendees for commercial purposes is expressly forbidden unless advance written permission has been obtained from the SPJA (and any venue in which you desire to make a Recording apart from the Los Angeles Convention Center or the Ontario Convention Center). Commercial Recordings include, but are not limited to:

• The purpose of sale to anyone
• Bonus content for home release (DVD/Blu-Ray)
• Concurrent livestream
• Post-event streams
• Vtubing (unless your booth or panel consists of Vtubing, however, Vtubing outside of your booth or panel requires a Filming Location Agreement)
• Television broadcast
• Videos posted on website, social media, and other promotional platforms
• Documentary film
• Filming/recording with professional camera person or crew

The following provisions must be met in order to make Recordings for commercial purposes:

• Written approval from SPJA
• Signing a Filming Location Agreement
• Obtaining media and other required insurance, naming SPJA and others as additional insureds, and providing proof of insurance by providing your certificate of insurance
• Payment of a Filming Location Fee to be determined by SPJA [(generally $2,500 per day)]

More information is available in the Filming Location Agreement. Please reach out to marketing@spja.org for more information and a Filming Location Agreement.

**No Recording (photo/video capture, livestreaming, Vtubing) is permitted in adult content areas such as booths, events, or panels.**

All bloggers and members of the press and staff are additionally required to conform to the SPJA’s Press Policy www.anime-expo.org/press and we encourage attendees to become familiar with those rules. Violation of this Recording Policy may result in forfeiture of your Event badge, your expulsion from the Event and/or termination of your position with SPJA.