Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Massachusetts
Permission to republish a speech
I am on the editorial staff for a book of readings intended for use in college classrooms. We are obtaining permission from various publishers to reprint materials. We would like to use excerpts from Obama's speech on race (Philadelphia, this summer). Is a public speech in the public domain, therefore, no need to obtain permission to reprint?
Asked on 11/12/08, 2:44 pm
1 Answer from Attorneys
Gregory Lee
Gregory P. Lee, Attorney at Law
Re: Permission to republish a speech
No, it is not automatically public domain. You should get permission.
By the way -- successful presidential candidates tend to be magnanimous and flattered. They also tend to have lots of good lawyers available to them.
Answered on 11/12/08, 5:13 pm