Writing a book -> Copyright issues?

[Pascal Alexis]

What is the name of your state? Aargau

Let's suppose I would like to write a book about Frank Sinatra. So I write if from what I know and from sources I find about him, out of books, films, articles and so on. Is this a copyright problem? Or is it only one, if I use literal quotes from copyrighted material? This matter seem complicated for me, as it is impossible to write a book without using knowledge you also learned from copyrighted sources.

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state? Aargau

Let's suppose I would like to write a book about Frank Sinatra. So I write if from what I know and from sources I find about him, out of books, films, articles and so on. Is this a copyright problem? Or is it only one, if I use literal quotes from copyrighted material? This matter seem complicated for me, as it is impossible to write a book without using knowledge you also learned from copyrighted sources.

So I write if from what I know and from sources I find about him, out of books, films, articles and so on. Is this a copyright problem?

This is called a bibliography and must be properly attributed.

 

[Pascal Alexis]

So I write if from what I know and from sources I find about him, out of books, films, articles and so on. Is this a copyright problem?

This is called a bibliography and must be properly attributed.

Thank you. So then I could quote whatever I wanted, as long as I attribute it properly in the bibliography? No licensing costs possible?

 

[seniorjudge]

Thank you. So then I could quote whatever I wanted, as long as I attribute it properly in the bibliography? No licensing costs possible?

What?

How did you get that out of my answer?


Do more research:


http://www.copyright.gov/

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? Aargau

Let's suppose I would like to write a book about Frank Sinatra. So I write if from what I know and from sources I find about him, out of books, films, articles and so on. Is this a copyright problem? Or is it only one, if I use literal quotes from copyrighted material? This matter seem complicated for me, as it is impossible to write a book without using knowledge you also learned from copyrighted sources.

"Facts" are not copyrightable, so any "facts" you obtain, whether the source is copyrighted or not, are free to use. Quotes are generally free to use, as are short excerpts from other copyrighted works -- however, it is usually better to obtain permission from any copyright holder that you are drawing material directly from.

If you read another book about Sinatra, and it gives his birthdate, that's a fact, and you can use it freely (and without attribution, although it is usually good practice to reference your sources); if you read about the deatils of his birth, and you rewrite the details in your own words, that's okay too -- again, we are dealing with facts. What somebody said during the birth -- a direct quote -- is also a "fact" and is okay to use. Taking a whole paragraph written by someone else about the birth, without significant rewriting, that you will need permission for.

 

[Pascal Alexis]

Thank you for the detailed information.