Copyright issues with bookstore ??

[Tim Joy]

I want to shoot in a bookstore.

Can I do this?
How much of the books can I show?
If I want to feature a certain book what are the implications with showing the title, or maybe some of the text?
Is it different for older books that are out-of-print and past a certain # of years old?

Thanks!

[joeloud]

First of all, shooting in a bookstore shouldn't be that big of a problem, because a lot of the books will likely be in the background, and not that easy to read. Think about Chasing Amy, where they shot in a music store. I doubt the production meticulously got the rights to every album in the background (they might have, I just doubt it). You can clearly tell what a lot of the albums are, but they're in the background.

As for showing the title or text from the book, I think as long as you aren't making a movie directly based on the content of the book, you wouldn't be infringing. Like that movie Chasing Holden (ok, I wasn't trying to name two movies with "Chasing" in the title). Although I haven't seen it, I know it was loosely based on Catcher in the Rye, and it supposedly used excerpts from the book while the main character tries to meet the author. Incidentally, Conspiracy Theory brings up Catcher in the Rye all the time and had nothing directly to do with the movie (the main character obsessively must buy it every time he sees a copy).

I think, if your movie is based directly on the source material without the rights, then that's when you're infringing. But if, say, your character found a copy of Moby Dick and figured out some code in certain passages that's actually a map to buried treasure, you'd be fine. (And if anyone uses that story, all I ask is a special thanks credit ;) )

[Tim Joy]

You make some good points. I don't plan on using anything from a specific book, just showing the title, so I guess it should be OK then.




But if, say, your character found a copy of Moby Dick and figured out some code in certain passages that's actually a map to buried treasure, you'd be fine. (And if anyone uses that story, all I ask is a special thanks credit ;) )


Sweet, I knew I could get someone to give me a story idea :Drogar-Evil(DBG):

[joeloud]

Figures, I get a story idea and I post it on a message board, lol. But really, National Treasure pretty much used the idea already ;) Good luck with the bookstore thing, though.

[bosindy]

titles fine, art on book jackets not fine

[David W. Richardson]

Be careful of posters on the walls too.