What are the rules if you use lots of references?

[Futchibon]

Hi,
Let's say you were writing a screenplay about an historical figure. You read bits of several dozen books on that person.

Are you able to use
a) the general ideas of bits of those books
b) specific ideas in bits of these books?

I thought I read somewhere that you could reference up to 10 or 12% of non-fiction works in screenplays without having to obtain rights.

Any answers and directions to websites dealing with these issues would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Futchibon]

I found this quote from the editor of scriptologist.com:

"When information about important historical events is cited in many history books by different authors, the information is considered common knowledge and can be used without fear of copyright infringement. For instance, the date when Pearl Harbor was bombed, December 7, 1941, can be freely used in a screenplay. Only when information is unique to a single author would you be required to secure a written agreement from the author".

So does this mean if information only quoted in 2 books on the subject would be able to be used?

Thanks.

 

[clang]

If something is a cold hard historical fact, it's not copyrightable. But if something is one person's theory, that person owns that theory.

So as scriptologist.com says, no one can stop you writing a screenplay about Pearl Harbour. But if you use one author's theory that the Japanese were secretly helped by purple Martians, that author may be able to sue. It all quickly gets insanely complicated and contradictory, of course - if that author reveals undeniable historical proof of his purple Martian theory, is it then fact or theory? Have a look at the lawsuits over the historical content in 'The Da Vinci Code'

And how far back in history is the person? Relatives and descendants may decide to sue you too (because they're offended, or because they think they deserve a big bucket of money), and the law can get real complicated. And different in every country...

In general, you just don't want people suing you, regardless of who's 'right' - your lawyer will charge you regardless.

In your specific case, it would be worth hunting for more books/articles on the same information - the more you can find, the less likely it is that someone would try to sue.