Jump to content

Is it legal to use a quote from a book in a film?


User
 Share

Recommended Posts

16 minutes ago, User said:

Um. Maybe we better just stick to talk about cameras in this forum. So I'll rephrase the original question.

What are your opinions if a have a quote from a book printed on a sticker, and then I stick that sticker on my camera. Can I get in trouble with the copyright owner of the book?

No.

Same goes for your original question with the quote, as long as its properly attributed, it falls under fair use. Watch any issue driven doc and you'll see a barrage of quotes from news stories, video from news reports and so on, as long as its attributed, you're fine. I watch a few docs a week, along with Frontline and 60 Minutes all the time and they cite stuff from books, newspapers and so on - constantly. Its all about attribution, cite the source and you're good.

I'm not a lawyer, but I took every media law class offered at my university when getting my journalism degree. I wouldn't hesitate for a second pulling a quote from somewhere else and including it in a piece. Its done all the time, its fair use as long as you're citing your source. I'm only speaking about the U.S.

http://www.cmsimpact.org/fair-use/best-practices/documentary/documentary-filmmakers-statement-best-practices-fair-use#two

Link to comment
Share on other sites

EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

Hey, you asked. I think more information is needed to answer your question properly. For instance, if your film opens...

BLACK SCREEN:

SUPER: IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES. CHARLES DICKENS

FADE IN:

Other than the obvious fact that that line is in the public domain... Even if it was not it would be perfectly legal because you are citing the source  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, The Chris said:

No.

Same goes for your original question with the quote, as long as its properly attributed, it falls under fair use. Watch any issue driven doc and you'll see a barrage of quotes from news stories, video from news reports and so on, as long as its attributed, you're fine. I watch a few docs a week, along with Frontline and 60 Minutes all the time and they cite stuff from books, newspapers and so on - constantly. Its all about attribution, cite the source and you're good.

I'm not a lawyer, but I took every media law class offered at my university when getting my journalism degree. I wouldn't hesitate for a second pulling a quote from somewhere else and including it in a piece. Its done all the time, its fair use as long as you're citing your source. I'm only speaking about the U.S.

http://www.cmsimpact.org/fair-use/best-practices/documentary/documentary-filmmakers-statement-best-practices-fair-use#two

It's seems 'The Chris' has moved the discussion forward by citing existing info on 'fair use' from what appears to a reputable org. Nice work Chris!
And a hearty thanks to everyone else for weighing in. Love this site and the folks who contribute in meaningful ways :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, User said:

It's seems 'The Chris' has moved the discussion forward by citing existing info on 'fair use' from what appears to a reputable org. Nice work Chris!
And a hearty thanks to everyone else for weighing in. Love this site and the folks who contribute in meaningful ways :)

You're welcome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A newscast is copyrighted content, nothing about it is public domain. In fact virtually nothing has entered the public domain in the U.S. in decades, you can thank the fuck-tards at Disney for that one because every 10 years when Mickeys copyright is about to expire they shovel truckloads of cash at lobbyists and get the copyright extended. 

Rant off. I just hate copyrights being extended in perpetuity for the sake of greed, that was never the intention of copyright protection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, The Chris said:

A newscast is copyrighted content, nothing about it is public domain. In fact virtually nothing has entered the public domain in the U.S. in decades, you can thank the fuck-tards at Disney for that one because every 10 years when Mickeys copyright is about to expire they shovel truckloads of cash at lobbyists and get the copyright extended. 

Rant off. I just hate copyrights being extended in perpetuity for the sake of greed, that was never the intention of copyright protection.

Yup. As I mentioned before, Everything Is A Remix is a terrific take on this. If any here haven't seen this, do check it out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ZachGoodwin said:

Well maybe the "fuck-tards" at Disney had families and were not like Tony Montana with money.

Also User get out of your head the idea you need to be the most micro budget oriented person at the fastest pace, because guess what it does not matter how much it costs you to make the film. You just gotta go through it.

It's easy to just not ask and publish and say fuck it I made success because "fair-use" Why does it piss filmmakers off?

Because if I took a scene off of Jonesy's film that took him hours to shoot right and claim it as my own. And Jonesy probably paid a prima donna high wage actor a lot of money and she probably kept on bitching and demanding while he tried to film her and once he did and finished it (at it's fullest before she started wanting to quit and probably do another film). Some knock off copy and pasted that scene and made more money off him. You didn't have to deal with a bitch so why steal it?

Congratulations on your opinion. However, you have no idea what I'm working on and the conditions I'm working under... so your assumptions seem... largely misplaced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, ZachGoodwin said:

Because if I took a scene off of Jonesy's film that took him hours to shoot right and claim it as my own.

That's plagarism, the key here being "claim it as my own", and is an entirely different section of law to fair use of copyright. Now if you had your characters in your movie watching the TV and the thing on the TV was a second or so of a non-descript part of his feature, and you credited his work, the thing you were making was an educational program for children, and the clip of his wasn't from a film aimed at the same demographic with the same educational aim, then you would be well within the bounds of fair use, you wouldn't need permission and I doubt Jonesy would be annoyed in the slightest. Even if he was, well, there's no harm done, in the eyes of the law, if your legal action pisses someone off - people generally are in control enough of the way they think to make a conscious choice to be pissed off.

And seriously, what gives talking about actresses like that - if she was being a "prima donna", and nice how you relapsed to the lazy stereotype, it was probably because she was being treated poorly. You know with not being a 1 dimensional entity who just drifts through life being a pain to all she comes in contact with and being a 3 dimensional person, with thoughts just as complex and valid as yours, feelings and everthing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, ZachGoodwin said:

Well maybe the "fuck-tards" at Disney had families and were not like Tony Montana with money.

Completely OT, but nothing published after 1923 has entered the public domain in the U.S., Disney is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world, they don't care about anyone's families, including their own employees given some of the massive layoffs from some of their most profitable divisions simply to make them more profitable - see ESPN. Disney only cares about making their shareholders happy as demonstrated by that lame remake of Episode IV by the great Xerox director they call The Force Awakens.

Society as a whole benefits from unrestricted access to science and the arts, we're already at authors life + 70 years or 95 for a corporation. This comes up again soon, expect to see the same BS as before - "we have to keep Mickey away from the porn industry" while Disney shovels loads of cash into the coffers of those voting for another extension.

Continually extending copyrights only benefits a select few - the publishers - plain and simple its nothing more than corporate welfare. Hopefully our next president vetoes the bill and puts an end to this nonsense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Grim Fandango said:

And seriously, what gives talking about actresses like that - if she was being a "prima donna", and nice how you relapsed to the lazy stereotype, it was probably because she was being treated poorly. You know with not being a 1 dimensional entity who just drifts through life being a pain to all she comes in contact with and being a 3 dimensional person, with thoughts just as complex and valid as yours, feelings and everthing.

I think I came across a thread a few months ago indicating a 1st gen model. The complex thoughts and feelings part came in the second batch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • EOSHD Pro Color 5 for All Sony cameras
    EOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs
    EOSHD Dynamic Range Enhancer for H.264/H.265
×
×
  • Create New...