Reader Question: Do I have to get someone’s life rights?

From Amy R. Butler:

I was actually just hoping you’d do reader questions again, ’cause I’ve actually got one! I scanned through the list and saw a similar one about how much can you take from real life scenarios and not get sued, but I was wondering if, more specifically, I met someone who is downright biopic material and wanted to copy their life completely (well, mostly), would I have to get their life rights or something? I don’t really even know what that means, I’ve just heard the term thrown around before.

Seriously, this guy’s life sounds incredible, and I actually haven’t even met him yet, I’m just hearing it second hand. I feel like it’s a story that could write itself, so if half the work’s done for me, you bet I’m jumping on that.

Amy, instead of offering my usual disclaimer — “I’m not a lawyer, I don’t play one on TV, but I used to walk past the law school every day when I went to college” — then mouthing off with some pseudo-jurisprudence babble, I’m going to rely on the words of an actual entertainment lawyer who specializes in this type of thing. His name is Mark Litwak. Disclaimer: I don’t know Mark, I’ve never met him, but I have referenced posts on his website several times, and it sounds like he knows what he’s talking about.

If you go to this page on Mark’s website, you will find several Q&A’s about life-rights. Here is one excerpt that seems particularly relevant:

Question: What are the legal issues pertaining to writing a screenplay based on someone’s life story? What rights need to be secured, etc.? Is it advisable to engage an attorney prior to any discussion about securing rights?

Answer: This is a difficult question to answer because the rights you need to obtain depend upon how much of the life story is in the public domain, and whether the subject of the life story is alive or dead. Moreover, if you fictionalize a story you may be able to avoid buying life story rights. Generally speaking, if you make a movie about someone, you are protected on the First Amendment and do not need a release. However, if you invade their privacy, hurt their reputation, want access to any confidential information that is not publicly available, or infringe upon their right of publicity, you could potentially be sued. Life story rights encompass a release for these causes of action. My book, Dealmaking in the Film and Television Industry, speaks at length about the issues involved in obtaining life story rights and when you need to purchase such rights.

Any other legal eagles in the GITS community who can weigh in on this subject?

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