Help Please! Copyrights and quoting lines from films

[Barbara]

Copyright question:

There's a line in a film I feel would be good for my protagonist to use because it shows how he ticks. Where do I stand in terms of copyright? Can I use that line if I say who said it, as in:

Al Pacino once said in the film Two For the Money: "It is when I ....... that I most .....". Jolly nice. But let me just add that "It is when I ...... that I most .....".

Can I do this kind of thing?

Or can I just use Al P's line freely without giving any credit to anyone? Al P's line isn't exactly earthshaking, and any writer could have come up with it, but it is used in a film about gambling, and there is a connection because my protagonist is a gambler (although it won't be a gambling book).

Any thoughts anyone?

 

[Carol Rose]

No, for the same reason using song lyrics is copyright infringement. Paraphrase it instead. That's what I do when I'm talking about song lyrics in my stories.

 

[Barbara]

No, for the same reason using song lyrics is copyright infringement. Paraphrase it instead. That's what I do when I'm talking about song lyrics in my stories.

@Carol Rose. Just to make sure my Swiss brain understands properly. By paraphrasing, do you mean this kind of thing:

We are most ... when we .....

 

[Paul Whybrow]

This is an aspect of writing that intrigues me, for I've been reading a lot of Walter Mosley's crime novels and he regularly has his private investigator recall quotes from great philosophers and political and economic theory writers. I'd like to do something similar with my detective protagonist, as he reads widely, but I've been unsure of issues to do with copyright and plagiarism.

It turns out, that there's such a thing as 'Fair Use': A Writer's Guide to Permissions and Fair Use | Jane Friedman

 

[Barbara]

This is an aspect of writing that intrigues me, for I've been reading a lot of Walter Mosley's crime novels and he regularly has his private investigator recall quotes from great philosophers and political and economic theory writers. I'd like to do something similar with my detective protagonist, as he reads widely, but I've been unsure of issues to do with copyright and plagiarism.

It turns out, that there's such a thing as 'Fair Use': A Writer's Guide to Permissions and Fair Use | Jane Friedman

Thanks for that link @Paul Whybrow. I'll have a read this afternoon.

 

[Amber]

Well, I don't know the answer to the question, even though Carol Rose seems confident and also seems the safe bet -- if she's right I'll be disappointed. My understanding is that after a period of time certain works become part of the 'public domain' and are then fair to use -- or as Paul's response seems to indicate, part of what's called 'Fair Use'. All of these phrases I'm sure have quite specific uses, meanings, and applications which I am unqualified to make certain statements about. Also gauging the looks of the Jane Friedman article, which looks very comprehensive to me, it seems like there are a lot of conditions to use which must be evaluated in every instance and apparently in a great deal of detail. There doesn't seem to be one answer.

I had a friend who mentioned a store in the Houston area called Gallery Furniture in her three volume novel. She got his permission to include the name of the store in her book. Every time anyone in our group of writing friends mentioned any brand name or TV show or song in our writing, she'd launch into another recounting of her epic battle of phone tag with Mattress Mack, the owner of the store, and always finished with cautions not to include any references without permission. This advice was given in the tone of an older, wiser, more experienced writer when she was mostly -- older. There's something desperate and tragically sad about dining out on tales of obtaining Mattress Mack's permission. I'd totally want to avoid it in that sort of situation and would have changed the name of the store.

But I have a character who uses ee cummings poetry as dialogue. I wouldn't want to change that. But it doesn't matter just yet.

Now that I've proven myself the cattiest of meows, I'll move along to something else.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Further to above inputs

Article on this very subject

 

[Barbara]

Thank you for that @Amber and @Katie-Ellen Hazeldine. That's helpful. It looks like i have some homework to do.

 

[Carol Rose]

@Carol Rose. Just to make sure my Swiss brain understands properly. By paraphrasing, do you mean this kind of thing:

We are most ... when we .....

I mean something like this:

"Like Al Pacino said in Two For the Money, it's when we fall that we most need to get up, or something along those lines. Been a while since I saw the film."

Not sure if you're using it in dialogue, or what the context is, so that might not work.

 

[Barbara]

I mean something like this:

"Like Al Pacino said in Two For the Money, it's when we fall that we most need to get up, or something along those lines. Been a while since I saw the film."

Not sure if you're using it in dialogue, or what the context is, so that might not work.

Ah, yes, I see what you mean, @Carol Rose.

It's the scene when Pacino talks about gambling and he says something along the lines of 'it is when we loose that we most feel alive'. I'd like the protagonists to use it then make an addition to it. In other words, he agrees with it (it was his initial self), then he tops it with a darker variation or addition which will show his character development / 'descent into the dark'. (Not sure if I'm making sense. It's been a crazy long day and brain has frazzled). I haven't decided yet whether it'll go into dialogue, or inner monologue, or as a quote at the beginning of the book. But this line really sums him up.

Now I have to decide what to do about it.

 

[WillHue]

Write your own. You're a writer, writers write. Turn it on its ear and its yours. A bad example 'if you're afraid to fail you're afraid to live. He will live and fear not failure". Something like that, only better.

 

[Barbara]

Hey @WillHue. I think you're right. That was my initial plan, but then lack of confidence took over, making me convinced I will never be able to write one equally strong and 'fitting'. I guess, Al P's performance may have intimidated me a tad. It's so powerful and says exactly what I want to get across. But yes, you're tolally right. I'll get to it.