Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Public Domain books

If a song/book/movie is in the public domain, ex. Alice in Wonderland book. Can you recreate, IE make the story fit todays generation and make a movie from it with out any copyright issues? EX. Alice daydreams at work and a bunch of Corporate antics occur, based on the story but completely different.


Asked on 9/05/07, 2:20 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Johm Smith tom's

Re: Public Domain books

If you make your story different enough, then you could say it was inspired by Alice but different. That should avoid the problem, but it would actually have to be different. This can be a complicated issue; so you should consult with an attorney who can go through your version with you to address all the possible issues.

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Answered on 9/05/07, 3:03 pm
Steven Mark Steven Paul Mark, Attorney at Law

Re: Public Domain books

Public domain means just that, "public." What defines "public domain" can be a bit tricky so unless you're certain the work upon which you're basing your project is "PD" be wary. Another issue to consider is whether the work you're copying is the PD work. For example, if you watched "A Christmas Carol" on TV starring Alistair Sim, you might assume that you can refit the Dickens classic without referring to the original work. In the process you may infringe the copyright of original material written just for the film.

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Answered on 9/05/07, 4:12 pm


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