Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Indiana

Fiction Writing

I would like to know the legal 'ins and outs' about use of locations, cities, public persons, songs, lyrics, landmarks, etc., for novels and other works of fiction. What legal pitfalls should a fiction writer look out for when considering writing a novel? Can one use their home city without getting into legal trouble? What about current songs and lyrics? Is there a book you can recommend that covers these issues? Not that much available--even from 'established' writing sources.


Asked on 7/07/02, 5:02 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: Fiction Writing

You may think of these elements as being of like kind, but they are not. You can freely use actual places however you want. Song lyrics are usually the subject of copyright and cannot be duplicated unless you either (1) have a license, or (2) fall within one of the "fair use" exceptions of the copyright laws. The right of public figures to prohibit the exploitation of their persona is the subject of state privacy laws.

Based upon the foregoing, you might understand why there is no one-stop-shopping resource of the kind you imagined. Best wishes,

LDWG

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Answered on 7/07/02, 7:19 pm


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