Question about Copyright.

I think you're wasting your money, personally. Apart from being within the law, you also have to consider the likelihood that the other author will ever find out or even care about what you're doing. If that author is that sort of person, then they might just as well come after you regardless of whether you're in the right, and that would happen whether you consult with a lawyer in advance or not (however the chances of that happening are exceedingly slim).

 

I used the name of the track and a brief description of the way the character felt when they heard that piece of music. Knowing how it made that character feel, another character played it to alleviate the first character's upset. Because it's the character's favourite piece, it was then also used later on in the story.

 

when I say 'another character played it' I mean on a cd player/ipad, not play as in on a musical instrument.

 

I doubt most attorneys would charge to answer such a simple question, much like they won't charge for an initial consultation. I don't think it's really necessary to contact one, but the OP seems reluctant to accept what's being said here, so...

 

Not so much reluctant, but if the worst comes to the worst (I always look on the black side, it's a bad habit I know) then my argument can't be "but the forum members said it would be ok ..."

 

Keep in mind, though, that the argument "a copyright attorney told me it was OK" won't save you from infringement either. If it is infringement, then it remains so regardless of whether you got legal advice to the contrary. An opinion might work against a charge of willfulness, though in general if you want the kind of legal opinion that stands up as protection against an allegation of willful infringement*, you're talking about something more formal than a simple consultation, and that's going to cost.

If nothing else, it may be worth doing for your peace of mind, but apart from that I'm not sure you gain a whole lot.

*I'm not sure if the UK has willful infringement like the U.S. does, but keep in mind that U.S. law could be pertinent as well, because a claim can be brought in any jurisdiction where you publish your work and the other work is under copyright.

 

It's sounds like your character's are using satire or parody (in the most basic sense of the word). In this case it's absolutely acceptable to use copyrighted work.

The most current example is "Dumb Starbucks" a franchise that is able to use all of Starbucks advertising material, as long as it has the word "dumb" in front of it. Even the logo is an act of parody. (The imitation does not apparently extend to the quality of the coffee, which most patrons agree is like drinking motor oil, strained through stained underwear.)

 

Unfortunately, he didn't take into account the Los Angeles County Health Department

 

Yuk! That sounds gross!

OK. I agree. The section doesn't badmouth the author/book/character. I'm not using the character for any gains (monetary or otherwise) and I'm not using it as advertisement. I'm not using the character as a character in my book neither, the character is simply a figment of a fictional conversation and as the character being talked about is themself, a fictional character, it's not hurting anyone or libellous. If I was the author of the other book I would be quietly delighted that my character had found it's way into another book as a reference to present pop culture.

That's it - I'm sticking with it! Thanks for all your help guys, hope I can return the favour at some point!

 

that's not 'using' the music in your book... just writing about it... which is done all the time and isn't a problem, since titles aren't covered by copyright... just don't use any of the lyrics, if it's a song...

 

It's not a song, just a piece of music. I did try to get permission to use lyrics from a certain song but am still waiting for an answer and so I changed the story slightly and found a workaround.

As I mentioned earlier, I asked the composer because I wasn't sure if I could use it without permission and wanted to cover myself. As it happens, he said yes and the contact benefited us both as my book is advertising for his music and he advertises that his music is in my book by means such as word of mouth, links on websites, retweeting each other etc etc. Since becoming a writer, I'll rephrase that, since I began to take my writing seriously, I have come across many authors who are just downright nasty. They sneer and snide at anything you say and are most unwilling to answer any questions about writing or publishing. It's almost like for them, writing has turned them into a Gollum type character, fiercely guarding his precious manuscripts for fear of someone nicking his ideas and climbing to the top of the tree before he has.

I have also met a few authors who are only too happy to chat about how/why/what they write and to exchange ideas. One in particular, is a writer of fantasy fiction, something I have never been into but, he is a fabulous writer of fight scenes whereas I'm not. He recently told me that he could not get his head around writing erotica so over the course of a few long emails, I helped him with an erotic scene he wanted to write and he helped me with a fight scene that I could just not get my head around.

So for me, if anyone helps me, I like to think that I can pass it on in the form of helping someone else down the line.

xx