Legal Question in Entertainment Law in Florida
Book/ Movie Rights
I own the rights to my decesed mother's book. Due to bad legal advice, she sold the movie & television rights to a major studio in the 60's. Now, a biographer who wrote about my mother has sold her rights to her own book and a big name star is in production ( a movie) to tell my mother's life story due in 2006. Everyone seems to be profiting but me. What are my rights? Should I reprint the book at the same time the movie comes out? What are my options?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Book/ Movie Rights
It is difficult to tell what rights you have without reviewing the underlying agreements as well as any certificates of registration for any of the applicable copyrights. The question is also complicated by the fact that the copyright laws underwent a major revision in 1986 that affected the number of years that a copyright exists as well as the manner of transferring or licensing individual rights in a copyright.
A secondary issue is the question of any rights of publicity that you mother may have had. This issue is affected by both state and federal law, and hinges on the question of whether your mother "exploited" this right during her lifetime.
As you can see, the question is too complicated to answer in this forum and without the crucial documents. You will need to have an attorney who is well versed in this area review the materials before your question can be answered.
Re: Book/ Movie Rights
This is a very complicated question,in order to offer competent advise ,one needs to know more facts. You may call my office to set up a consultation @718-834-0087
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