illegal to use ?

[VincentGary]

Hi peeps, Can anyone tell me if it’s illegal to use “ quotes / saying’s, that somebody else has said. i’m guessing not but still worth checking. I presume something like song lyrics would be as it’s copyrighted ?

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Its a breach of copyright unless the author has been dead for over 70 years. You need to ask permission from the writer or their agent. I have cleared permissions on about 700 pieces of writing for my books. Sometimes no charge is made and sometimes a modest fee. Some rights owners charge silly amounts. Don't even think about Enid Blyton.

 

[VincentGary]

Let me give you an example, I watch an interview on TV the guy been interviewed say’s something witty/funny could i then use his saying on a product? I’d imagine i could as it’s just everyday chatter and not legally binding or belongs to anyone...

Lyrics and a line out off a book would be different as thats been copyrighted etc...

 

[Deleted member 59730]

It would most likely belong to both the TV company and the person saying the line. TV shows are copyright. Jokes and funny lines are copyright.

 

[VincentGary]

No what i meant is ! It’s not a TV show, nor is it a celeb, comedian anything like that it was just an interview on TV, it wasn’t planed staged or other! Lets put it this way - if i was sat on a bus and you said something i could then copy that and use that saying because it belong to no one right ?

 

[Vectis]

Are you looking to quote the person e.g. Joe Bloggs said "blah, blah, blah"? Or do you mean you just want to take a phrase you've heard e.g. "crazy like a fox" and use that?

 

[fisicx]

Yes you can use the quote but you have to provide the source.

It's called fair use and it's perfectly legal, as long as you provide a reference.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Fair Use is USA law. In the UK it is Fair Dealing. Fair Dealing is very unlikely to apply to use on a product.

If it is not a unique set of words it is not copyright but as few as 8 words can be copyright.

 

[VincentGary]

Thank you, i thought as much but you never know with these crazy laws .

 

[RichardParsons]

Hi Vincent

There's a good article on "fair dealing" available from the website of the UK Intellectual Property Office. You can find it by googling "IPO Fair Dealing".

There's also a wikipedia article called "Fair deadling in United Kingdom law".

I hope that helps.