I am planning to write a modern day western story, I got the idea to write this story from a western movie that i watched. I want to use one of the rifles that was in the movie in my own story, here is my problem how in the world do i that without getting sued by the company that made the movie?
Well, what sort of rifle did that character use? If you're worried about it, you can have your character use a different style rifle, or the same rifle with a different name, like call it the "McGurn Rifle" and make up a gun buisness run by the McGurn who make that sort of rifle. Or you can use a real-world rifle like the Winchester Repeater.
unless it was invented for the movie, they don't own the rights to it. so if i am understanding you correctly this is a non issue. now people may say, hey that the rifle so and so used in so and so movie.
Link the Writer the rifle that was used in the movie was a winchester 1866 repeating lever action rifle.
OK. So it's a pretty common rifle of the era. I don't think you have to worry about it. It was a very popular rifle back in the old days. US soldiers took this thing to Europe when the US entered WWI in 1918. It remains, to this day, an extremely famous and popular old rifle. People in real life and in Western videogames/movies/whatever have used that kind of rifle. It's a staple of the Western genre, like cowboy hats and spurs. My Western protag wields a Winchester model himself. I don't think you should worry. Let your badass weild that rifle like he/she was born with it!
sweet. it was a common enough gun, i don't think you would have many problems with it being too similer. but now the catch by putting it in the modern times. this is a old gun. are they using originals in 44 rim fire that i think you would have to make ( if you can find it commercially i would be surprised and its probably limited runs like the 22 WMR i have) now don't cry, you can find reproductions by Uberti ( who else) that fire cartragies that are still produced. ( 45 colt 44/40 and 38 special). now let me add another dimension, ammo. Hornady has these bullets called LEVERevolution witch allows better better bullets to be used in guns with tubbler magazines like that Winchester. they don't have factory ammo for these calibers, but if you hand load they have bullets of this design that whoud work
If you're writing a period piece, in the Wild West of old (not the movie or show) there are limited options for firearms anyway. The repeating rifle, Colt .45 and maybe a couple others. With that said, if you're in the 1870-1880's or so period of Tombstone, AZ. You shouldn't get in trouble for using the firearms of the era, but I'd just create myself fictional companies to make the same items and save myself from legal issues.
hate to be that guy but i got to see sauce on that. i have only heard of the model 94 being used by troops at home and along the borders during that time.
I checked, and you're right. It was the 1897 model that was used in the trenches in 1918, not the 1866 model. @ OP- Disregard what I said about the 1866 model. That was an oldie by the time WWI broke out in 1914. Nevertheless, it was a very famous gun of the time. If you still want to play it safe, make up a gun company that produces that style of gun. But Selbbin has it spot on. Saying that film makers own the rights to a historical weaponry is like saying all historical fiction media hold exclusive rights to an entire historical period. The only rights they hold exclusive property to are their own characters and their plots.
