Hi. This is a legal question, but I think you guys would probably be more qualify to answer this than the legal forum (considering this is your field). Is legal to compile a list of celebrity/famous quotes to sell as an ebook? I see people in the buy/sell forum selling databases of quotes, which got me wondering. Thanks in advance, -DigiP
I just wrote a post on copyright for my blog (won't be live until 26th). Selling the e-book could be a problem but here is my view. If the person who wrote the quote did not actually put that quote in a tangible (physical) form, then technically they don't have copyright over it. Furthermore, it's very hard to actually copyright a quote as it's usually just a sentence. Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the actual idea itself. As long as you give the person who said the quote credit, I see no problem. Remember though, I'm not a lawyer.
i dont think so quotes are under copyright, they are free because they need to be spread and read by masses
Reference: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html Short quotes from written materials usually fall under fair use, especially if you cite the source. Quotes culled from interviews are usually fine too, though if you wanted to be really careful you could cite from where the quote was taken. for example.... "Copyright law is hard" - Pamela Anderson, in an interview with eTalkDaily, 1998
Copyright law really is hard . It's so difficult to judge the difference between fair use and copyright infringement. Don't forget that the copyright on a work expires. So using older quotes in your e-book would definitely be ok.
Always source the quote. Don't just say: "blah blah," John Smith said. Point out where the quote came from, such as the December 2007 article "blah blah" in My Magazine. Read up on fair use, including the test courts use to determine if an item falls under fair use. And don't go by the "other people do it principle." Lots of people sell drugs. It's not legal, they just haven't been caught yet. That principle won't help you in court. It will just make you look like an idiot.
Ok, I have read where movie studios sued people who use their movie quotes for t-shirts, etc. So I guessed you can get sued for using quotes. Would it be easier to use quotes from past world leaders & philosophers? Would there be any possible legal risks doing it this way? Thanks in advance, -DigiP
When you say copyrights expire, they do, but I believe it is currently after seventy-five years. Don't quote me on this though
Stars are public figures. So are politicians. It is difficult for those considered in the public domain to press charges. But I'd do what marketjunction suggests and source it. When I use a quote, that's what I do.
In order to be copyrighted a work must be fixed in tangible form. That does not mean it has to be published. Unless you were hanging out with this famous person, the only way for you to have heard it would be if it were in some fixed form (part of a televised speech, in a magazine interview, recorded for tv, written on that person's blog, etc...). If the quote was just a one-liner (say a one sentence response to a question) then the quote would not have been long enough to have copyright. If it was part of a speech, then it depends on whether the quote you use would be considered a substantial part of the speech. Substantial does not necessarily mean a certain percentage. A paragraph from the end of the speech that summarizes the whole speech might be considered substantial even if the speech is thirty pages.