Copyright Question

[Shawn]

Hey everybody,
I was thinking about adapting an old novel into a screenplay, and I was curious if anybody knows the rules about this sort of thing. As far as I can tell, if it was published before 1923 it's fair game (in America anyway). Is this right? It's not Tarzan or anything, so I don't think I'll have to worry about trademark infringement. Basically I want to take the general plot structure and modify it, (make it more modern, add jokes, etc.) Am I OK on this, legally speaking? Is pre-1923 public domain?

Shawn

 

[directorik]

There isn't a person here who can help you with the question.
And you really don't want to take legal suggestions from any
of us. I know you won't, I know you're just asking - but seriously;
if five people here say that it's fine and then you write the script
and make the movie and end up in court, it's not going to be a
good evidence to say, "Well the guys on Indietalk said there
should be no problem." We can all guess. Is that good enough for
you to go ahead with the project?

Some pre 1923 novels are in public domain - some are not. I'm
sure you've checked on line already - what did you find about
that specific book?

 

[Shawn]

The book I want to use is online, at Project Gutenberg (which is where I got most of my lapsed copyright information). I'm pretty sure it'd be cool, but of course I won't start anything until I know 100%. This was what I got from their FAQ page:

"What can I do with a text that is in the public domain?"

Anything you want! You can copy it, publish it, change its format, distribute it for free or for money. You can translate it to other languages (and claim a copyright on your translation), write a play based on it (if it's a novel), or a novelization (if it's a play). You can take one of the characters from the novel and write a comic strip about him or her, or write a screenplay and sell that to make a movie.

You don't need to ask permission from anyone to do any of this. When a text is in the public domain, it belongs as much to you as to anyone.

"What books are in the public domain?"

Any book published anywhere before 1923 is in the public domain in the U.S. This is the rule we use most.

U.S. Government publications are in the public domain. This is the rule under which we have published, for example, presidential inauguration speeches.

Books can be released into the public domain by the owners of their copyrights.

Some books published without a copyright notice in the U.S. prior to March 1st, 1989 are in the public domain.

Some books published before 1964, and whose copyright was not renewed, are in the public domain.

If you want to rely on anything except the 1923 rule, things can get complicated, and the rules do change with time. Please refer to our Public Domain and Copyright How-To for more detailed information.

That seems to be the deal. It's partly that I like the story, but also partly that I think it might be good writing practice as I've never adapted anything for the screen before. Anyway, I'll keep looking for a definite answer.

Shawn

 

[WideShot]

In my non-advice opinion, I believe as long as it is pre-1922 (maybe it is 1923?), and you are using the ORIGINAL printed text as your source (as opposed to a translated version or another film that was based on the original text), I believe it is in the public domain and you should be fine.

 

[clive]

If you go off the 1923 rule, you're only covering copyright in the US... not internationally, where the rule for public domain is based on 75 years from the date of death of the author.

Plus, you want to check with a lawyer if the 1923 rule is current... the international copyright laws regards public domain altered about ten years ago, taking stuff that had been public domain back into copyright, and at this time there was a lot of talk about standardizing copyright law internationally at the 75 year mark, in order to avoid international clashes.

The truth is international copyright law is a nightmare and I'd never start on an adaptation project without consulting my lawyer and getting him to establish the original document's true legal status. Depending on the complexity of the search, establishing copyright ownership can be costly and you'd need to budget about $10,000 to cover legal costs... and that's even before you enter into negotiation with the owner... if one exists.

Because of the legal complexity, I've never seen adaptation as a viable route for indies... I've yet to meet see anyone successfully pull it off... and generally the projects get bogged down in interminable legal wrangles.

 

[Will Vincent]

My understanding is that everything on the Project Gutenberg site is completely public domain.

Here's as couple resources to check status of a copyright:

http://www.copyright.gov/records/
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~lesk/copyrenew.html
http://collections.stanford.edu/copyrightrenewals/bin/page?forward=home

Also, you should consider picking up a copy of The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-free Writings, Music, Art & More by Stephen Fishman.

In fact, EVERY screenwriter should have it on their bookshelf.. this is the first sentence of the book: "Are you a screenwriter looking for a novel or story to adapt?"

Fishman is an attorney, and he writes in a manner that makes copyright law understandable. The book includes essentially all the information you need to determine whether a work is in the public domain or not.

 

[directorik]

The book I want to use is online, at Project Gutenberg (which is where I got most of my lapsed copyright information). I'm pretty sure it'd be cool, but of course I won't start anything until I know 100%.

Excellent!

Then it can't hurt to save up a few hundred dollars and talk to a copyright
lawyer for half an hour. We can all tell you what we've heard and read and
that gets you to about 80% - a couple of hundred bucks will get you that 100%.

This isn't a cheap career choice, is it?

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

Shawn,

Chances are that you're okay legally but even so -- spend the money and talk to a decent entertainment lawyer about writing the script based on the book...

If there are no decent entertainment attorneys in your area, then talk to a copyright attorney.

The fact of the matter is that many MANY producers have lawsuits brought against them immediately after their film hits the theaters... Most of these suits are frivolous and baseless... Some are not.

You'd be surprised at how many big movies hit the theaters with a number of lawsuits popping up after release... It just happens because this is the society that we live in today.

Meaning that IF something like this were to happen to you, you'd at least want to be able to establish that you performed your own DUE DILIGENCE before just sitting down and writing the script.

In a court of law, establishing this matters a lot.

Additionally, since this is something you're considering adapting, might I also suggest that you create a logbook of some kind that journals EVERYTHING you do during the development of the script. True, you'll probably never need it but IF you do someday, you'll have a nice detailed record of events that cover everything you've done in your attempt (and hopefully, success) of adapting the book into a script.

Could come in very handy later on down the line...

Good luck with it!

filmy