Are Quotes by Famous people copywrited ?

[J.R. Hudson]

Can quotes be used ? Famous filmmkaer quotes ? Athelete quotes ? Policatal quotes ?

Can they be put on Bumper Stickers or T-Shirts ? How about the quote itself sans the quoters name ?

Anyone ?

 

[FlintMI]

yes

yes

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html

How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission?
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See FL 102, Fair Use, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians.


cafepress.com seems to allow famous quotes to be sold on t-shirts, bumperstickers. they are normally pretty good about squashing copyright infringement and it seems quotes have a free reign.

if you're in violation, most likely you'll get a cease and desist letter first.

 

[FilmMakerr]

Ive written quotes in my scripts before

 

[JasonFox]

Hmmm. Just a guess, but a half-way educated one: If the quote was made in the public arena -- e.g., in an interview, press conference, speech, etc. -- it is fair game.

However, just by answering your question, you have agreed to indemnify me against any possible damages stemming from this advice.

Fox

 

[mikkowilson]

How about famous quotes from copywrighted works?

"To be, or not to be, that is the quesion".
Fair game? Or copyrighted?


- Mikko

 

[Isaac_Brody]

You can't copyright a short phrase, but you can trademark it if you intend to use it for business.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ34.html

You can trademark a phrase here:

http://www.uspto.gov/

And well known quotes that are in the public can't be trademarked.

 

[FlintMI]

How about famous quotes from copywrighted works?
"To be, or not to be, that is the quesion".
Fair game? Or copyrighted? - Mikko

[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/toc/bl_copyright_expire.htm
[/SIZE]

 

[mikkowilson]

Thanks Flint, though I was asking more of a general case.

Let me change my example to: "We need a bigger boat!" Still relativly new, definatly from a piece still under copyright. But is it fair to use?


- Mikko ... needs a bigger 'boot'.

 

[FlintMI]

Thanks Flint, though I was asking more of a general case.

Let me change my example to: "We need a bigger boat!" Still relativly new, definatly from a piece still under copyright. But is it fair to use?


- Mikko ... needs a bigger 'boot'.

that's a way better example. yah, I knew what ya meant. but I wanted to let people know anything not published in the 20th century is pretty much wide open. (with exceptions!)

the best thing is that if you make fun of something, you can use it all you want.

heh-heh wait till you see what I'm working on.

and thanks to Sonny Bono, copyright is now an even bigger mess.

but karma works in strange ways. :banned:

 

[J.R. Hudson]

Great input everyone

Thank you very much !

 

[kwoff]

I think this has been posted before, but for what it's worth, here is a link to a document published by the centers for social media which addresses fair use by documentary film makers. It is a pretty good resource designed to give film makers an idea when and how they can use copyrighted material without risking claims of copyright infringement.

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/statement_of_best_practices_in_fair_use/

 

[vidled]

Good question. I'd say some are trademarked, others not. So it would be a case-by-case situation.

John, you can do a SEARCH for trademarks here:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=login&p_lang=english&p_d=trmk

"Let's Get Ready To Rumble" is trademarked, for instance. But many quotes won't be.