What is fair use when using interviews of deceased persons?

[GreenMountain09]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Vermont

I am currently writing a theatrical play about a deceased public figure (has been dead about 30 years). Much of the play includes monologues by this public figure.

Of course, I wouldn't be writing about this person if I did not feel I had a strong grasp of their voice, however I am obviously also relying on printed interviews for some specifics (and have documented any time I have done so).

My question is, am I able to produce this play without securing rights to the individual works the quotes (mostly partial quotes) come from? Some of the source material includes :

*Interviews printed in magazines
*Interviews published in books as Q&A's
*A memoir of someone who was close to the public figure
*Audio recordings of publicly given interviews

Now, the play I am writing has it's own unique structure, does not borrow any "story" from any of the above sources, but does feature similar quotes as given directly by the public figure in their lifetime.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[GiorgioViklo]

Hello,

I've just desided to register here, so... hello everyone !

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by GiorgioViklo

Hello,

I've just desided to register here, so... hello everyone !

Hijacking is not well-received in our forum.

[FlyingRon]

For a second there I was going to ask you how you managed to interview someone who was dead.

Copyright extends 75 years after the death of the creator in many cases. Certainly published works are NOT in the public domain. Your best bet would be to get permission from whoever owns the works (the estate of the dead person, the magazine or other media doing their interview).

Quotes can generally be argued as fair use. Longer excerpts risk being determined as infringement.