Use of quotes in film

occfilms

occfilms

Hey everyone,

Quick question. Would any of you know what you need to do to get the rights to use a quote in your film. I am making a documentary and would like to use quotes to begin each new chapter in the film.

Can I just use the quotes I want? Are they public domain? Who would I write to if I need to get rights? What if the speaker of the qoute is dead?

Any help with any of these questions is much appreciated. Many thanks in advance!

T
 
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Short and sweet with the author's name in the same shot with the quote will do the trick.

Be aware of "misusing" the quote though . . . There are at least two good books on law for filmmakers that'll help keep you out of a courtroom.
 
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I am a bit confused about what you mean by "short" do you mean the length of the quote or the film. I plan on making this a feature length movie and I do intend to submit to festivals. I just want to make sure I don't get sued by anyone. Thanks
 
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This is one area that I don't have any first hand experience with in talking to lawyers, so I'm just guessing based on the language on the US Copyright office's site.
If it's something long that makes people say "Hey wait a minute! That's _____" then I'm just guessing that it's copyright infringement. If it's something short (like "how 'bout them apples" or "make my day") that is something said in every day speech then it's OK.

What do you people think about these lines? Usable?

"This one goes to eleven" (I think this line would be OK to use)
"Frankly my dear I don't give a damn" (I think this line would be OK to use too)
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" (I think this line would be OK to use too)
 
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occfilms said:
I am a bit confused about what you mean by "short" do you mean the length of the quote or the film. I plan on making this a feature length movie and I do intend to submit to festivals. I just want to make sure I don't get sued by anyone. Thanks
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The quote. Keep it short. No more than a couple of sentences. To play it safe, you could contact the publisher for an 'ok".
 
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To play it safe, you could contact the publisher for an 'ok".
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NEVER do that! Often they say no as a knee jerk reaction to protect their stuff even when they have no claim under copyright law. Contacting them will just put them on alert and maybe even invite a frivolous lawsuit. Contact a lawyer for the truth.
 
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Blade_Jones said:
NEVER do that! Often they say no as a knee jerk reaction to protect their stuff even when they have no claim under copyright law. Contacting them will just put them on alert and maybe even invite a frivolous lawsuit. Contact a lawyer for the truth.
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On the contrary, publishers (note: I said publishers, not authors) regularly are requested for scholarly quote requests all the time. They are aware of the "free use" provisions and it is in their interest to ensure their authors are credited and perhaps requiring the name of the publisher in the credit list as well.

Of course you can ignore a denial from a publisher, but if you can get all your ducks in a row without talking to a lawyer, why not?

Frivolous lawsuits from publishers don't happen -- somebody has to pay for these lawyers and the chances of the person being sued being awarded attorney fees and more are high -- they wouldn't do something so stupid. This is not something you need to worry about as publishers aren't rolling in dough suing people people over things they are allowed to use under the copyright laws..

If you ARE going to worry, worry about getting sued by the author -- authors are often clueless to the fair use provision -- and will pay out of their own pockets to sue someone, even if you are given the ok from your own attorney.

Again, there are two excellent law books for filmmakers.
 
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First off I want to thank you all for your help and input. It's great. However I am curious how things change if the quote wasn't written but spoken. One of the biggest ones that I want to use was spoken by JFK. I read the stuff on the link Blade_Jones posted and I made sense. I also get the bit about short quotes (thanks GuerrillaAngel). I guess it seems that the general consensus is that as long as it isn't a lengthy qoute...an as long as the authors name is listed with the qoute I'm alright(?).
 
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an as long as the authors name is listed with the quote I'm alright(?).
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You don't have to credit anyone for something that is not copyrightable. In fact I would avoid it. It just invites attention and potential frivolous trouble.

Speeches are usually also written for the media, so don't assume that it was just some impromptu speech that was never affixed (written) to paper.
 
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occfilms said:
First off I want to thank you all for your help and input. It's great. However I am curious how things change if the quote wasn't written but spoken. One of the biggest ones that I want to use was spoken by JFK.
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He was President when he said it, and said it "officially", so therefore it's fine to use (government works can't be copyrighted, they're always public domain in the US).

Technically, a spoken quote can't be copyrighted, unless the speaker has it written down, too (which is probably the case with most official or formal speeches).

As a general rule of thumb, if you're only quoting a sentence or two, and you properly attribute it, then you're safe. Also, anything from before 1923 should be fine, too. You can look up copyright status if you want to quote from something that was published, though the online records are a little spotty (especially from before 1970).
 
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