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Question about writing a play


After acting in local community productions for the last 4 years Im attempting to write a play for the first time and I have a question about something. basically at one point in my play a character quotes a line from the kevin smith movie clerks, and im not trying to rip of clerks because this particular character acknowledges that what hes saying is from the movie clerks. If I have a character who quotes from anything (movie,book etc) Do I need to ask the original author for permission to use the quote? If thats the case then i'll think about using something from a movie or play in public domain because well I dont know Kevin smith or how to get ahold of him. hahahahaha

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You can quote short excerpts without permission under fair use. A single line is not likely to be seen as an infringement.

Read Staroamer's Fate http://is.gd/WdmgqC & Syron's Fate http://is.gd/L2Vzrg

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I already gave this response to this OP over in the STW forum earlier today; but am doing so again here as there seems to be a fairly common misunderstanding of fair use being posit in both here and there.


by crothman
»20 hours ago (Tue Aug 6 2013 12:12:07)
IMDb member since February 1999

You can quote short excerpts without permission under fair use. A single line is not likely to be seen as an infringement.

This is not necessarily true. In order to claim fair use protection, the usage must be transformative upon the source text rather than derivative of it.

If the work is somehow commenting upon or critiquing or parodying Clerks in a way that transforms the audiences understanding of the original film, then it would be protected as fair use. If it is simpling a character "quoting" the movie, then it would not be protected use.

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Read the law. Nothing in copyright law says anything about fair use being "transformative" or "derivative." Here is the actual law on the issue:

§ 107 . Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Do you see the words "transformative" or "derivative" anywhere? Feel free to point them out.

Quoting one line from a movie is fair use under #3 and #4. #1 could be argued, but the ability to quote a line or two from a movie would not be an issue due to the fact it is clearly OK for #3 and #4.

It's different for songs, where this is no fair use (that's #2 above), but you can quote a line or two of movie dialog in your own screenplay without worrying about violation.

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Read Staroamer's Fate http://is.gd/WdmgqC & Syron's Fate http://is.gd/L2Vzrg

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I have a character who quotes from anything...............!






____________
kaleem

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