Inspired by...
- Thread starter Buk2
- Start date
I doubt it. This is one of those "You need to contact a lawyer" answers.
You can legally use the theme - a theme cannot be copyrighted. However,
if you are thinking that including "inspired by" will make the script (or film)
more marketable, it won't. since you have already been turned down, the
original copyright holder might be even more tempted to pursue legal action
against you. There is a very real possibility that the reason you were turned
down is because they are in the process of selling the movie rights to someone
else. Your film will be in direct competition with theirs. If you try to use the
authors name and book title that could cause even more problems.
You can legally use the theme - a theme cannot be copyrighted. However,
if you are thinking that including "inspired by" will make the script (or film)
more marketable, it won't. since you have already been turned down, the
original copyright holder might be even more tempted to pursue legal action
against you. There is a very real possibility that the reason you were turned
down is because they are in the process of selling the movie rights to someone
else. Your film will be in direct competition with theirs. If you try to use the
authors name and book title that could cause even more problems.
I would not credit the book as "inspired by" as then you open yourself up to a civil lawsuit.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD from Romero was "inspired by" I AM LEGEND the novel by Richard Mathieson. He said so in interviews, etc. but never on screen. Quentin Tarantino often spoke about being inspired by novelist Elmore Leonard. He never put it on screen until he made JACKIE BROWN which was a straight adaptation of the novel RUM PUNCH.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD from Romero was "inspired by" I AM LEGEND the novel by Richard Mathieson. He said so in interviews, etc. but never on screen. Quentin Tarantino often spoke about being inspired by novelist Elmore Leonard. He never put it on screen until he made JACKIE BROWN which was a straight adaptation of the novel RUM PUNCH.
Why arm them with additional evidence? The fact that you have already contacted them can be used as evidence in court. Whether you give a credit or not does not determine whether it's copyright infringement or not. That would be up to a court to decide based on the meat & potatoes of the movie itself. Your position (argument) is that you didn't take any intellectual property of theirs and therefore you don't need to credit anyone.
Can you explain in more detail what this theme is?