Shakespeare is in the public domain, so all bets are off. You can do anything you want to him. Which is how I think all art and media in the public sphere should be, but that's another matter...
Not entirely true, Although there is no copyright in effect, you still need to acknowledge the source. You might feel differently if it were your hard work and artistic efforts, and your source of income, up for grabs.
if she'd done that with a work that's still under copyright, it could have been plagiarism... i haven't read what you're referring to, so can't tell more definitely than that... however, mere 'similarity' to another's work usually isn't, though that could be 'copyright infringement' in some cases... the latter is a much more complicated and 'greyer' area...
I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this - but having it backed up by someone better versed in media law than me would be greatly appreciated. Take, for example, a TV show such as Heroes, a movie series such as Friday the 13th or a videogame series like Mario brothers. If I was to write a 'history of' or an analytical piece on something like that, would I be able to publish it?
It depends on what you mean by "history." Take for instance the Mario Bros...if by "history of" you meant something along the lines of an analysis of how it was developed, by who, the response to its release, its impact on video games, then it would be fine as long as you didn't write anything defamatory or untrue and you worked in a professional way (properly acknowledging your sources, conducting the proper research, etc). It would be the "unauthorized" history of, though, unless they were involved themselves, copy-editing, things like that.
you need to read up on the 'fair use' exception to the copyright laws... and, if you're serious about being a writer, learn what can and can't be done in re all things to do with copyrighted material... go to the source, for definitive info: www.copyright.gov when in doubt, always consult a literary attorney... and as far as i know, there are none here... while most of us are willing and eager to be helpful, legal issues are too important to leave up to guesswork...
When I was at uni, way back now, I did a course on media law, and managed to come out more confused than when I went in. I was not made for understanding law. I nearly got myself sued once by accident because of that. It was my intention to consult with a attorney if the ideas floating about in the ether turned into pages of text, but forums such as these are always great for early preliminary research (well, that and wiki), and you never know, there might be someone around that's published such a book Also, just for future reference: - I am, I just haven't published books
The trouble with forums is that you also get advice that is completely uninfomed, and you can't always tell the difference if you don't already know the correct answer. The cost of a wrong answer is too high. If an official site such as http://www.copyright.gov doesn't answer your question, you should either play it safe or consult a literary attorney.
What you are suggesting is no different to the many academic essays you can get on texts and provided you proeprly reference everything you sue there should be no reaosn why you can't write it, getting it published however is a lot more difficult as unless you are a university professor or the like, most academic publishers won't take notice of it.
I'm sure this gets asked a lot, but its something I'm ignorant about. I do understand the premise of a trademark as being protection for a commercial brand from being used by a competitor and assuring consumers that a product is the real deal. The thing I want to know, is to what extent or degree a writer may use the name of a real-world business in writing. Naturally I mean in a neutral non-derogatory fashion. My story takes place in a realistic present-day setting and I would love to subtly describe it by sprinkling in things like "It's next to the empty Walmart". With these six words one immediately has an image of a specific kind of area within an older suburb or small town. Of course I've read plenty of stories where this is done, never mind things like newspaper and online reviews of restaurants and stores. But is that under some kind of fair use principal, or are the rules hard and fast and I can know I am doing things right(or wrong)?
'fair use' does not cover fiction that's written to be sold... learn about that, along with all the ins and outs of the copyright and trademark laws here: www.uspto.gov basically, you can use any brand name, or business name freely, in your fiction, as long as you spell them correctly, since they're public entities... as you've noticed, it's done all the time... but if you malign them in any way, they can sue you...
Hi, I want to quote a few lines from a classic in my story. If I ever got my story published, would I encounter any problems for having done this? Do I need to seek copyright permission or do I just make sure it is clear where I am quoting from in my story? I'm all .
I'm not sure, I think it depends on the particular copyrights of the piece you're quoting. I've been wondering the same thing, actually.
Nice username. I guess I'll have to research into that particular books copyright conditions then, it's quite important to my story.
A royalty publisher will let you know if there's any legal infringement. But until and unless you arrive at that point, you can quote whomever you like. If it's a classic, it'll probably fall into the realm of public domain, anyway. You can check out the general idea and parameters of "public domain" by Googling it. (Even copyrighted material has some latitude in terms of being quoted for various reasons.) In any case, cite your sources (lest you open yourself to the impression or consequences of plagiarism) and don't use the quoted material in connection with anything that could be seen as a distortion of intent on the part of the original author (like some moral conclusion or religious agenda). I am not an attorney and my opinion is you probably won't need one to figure out how what freedom you have to use published works in this way. But it's worth looking into so you can get a sense of how this is typically viewed in terms of what's acceptable and what isn't. Might also check out "libel" as a completley different but sometimes related potential problem.
^ Thank you for giving me a guiding point, it's much appreciated. I will follow your advice and seeing as I won't be distorting the views of the author, I'm sure it will go okay.
Kind of random, but I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 and nearer the end there is a section where Beatty the fire cheif is quoting a whole range of literature from Poe, to Edgar Rice Burroughs. Although in the story he mentions the authors name and that might be key. I would just write it how it sounds best and if the day ever comes where you are to get it published I'm sure the publisher will make you fully aware of any changes that need to be made.
it depends on whether the work you're quoting from is still under copyright... if it's in the public domain, you can quote it all you want... but if it's not, you'll have to get the permission of the copyright holder, regardless of how it's being used, since your work of fiction does not fall under the 'fair use' exception... do NOT rely on advice from site members [including me], since none of us here are literary attorneys... go to the source and study up on what you can and can't do legally [in the us, at least]: www.copyright.gov and if still in doubt, consult a literary attorney...
In my novel I take a block of text from another book in existence. Before I even copy the text over I give rightful credit that it is NOT my work and the work of someone else. My first question is, is this plagiarism or is this sufficient to keep the copyright laws against me. Secondly how to do I introduce the text within my own. Do I keep it in line with my text and simply quotation mark it or do I quotation mark it and indent it? Thanks for the help.
If it's a novel, you MUST get written permission. There is no "fair use" clause for including an excerpt in fiction. It would not be plagiarism, but it would be a copyright violation (subtle distinction - you are acknowledging the source, but still do not have the owner's permission to use it). If it is a block of text, and you have secured the necessary permissions, you should probably use a block quote, i.e. an indented block with no enclosing quote marks.
