Reader Question: If my story is based on an actual event, do I need permission of participants?
A Tweet from @@MsDavinaRenae:
I’m writing a script that was inspired by an actual event. Do I need 2 get approval from ppl involved b4 I submit 2 an agent
it’s a personal event not a world event. My situation does involve a dancer/celeb/public figure.
Usual caveat: I am not a lawyer, I do not play one on TV. And although Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite movie characters, that probably does not qualify me to give you any definitive legal advice, so do not consider what I say to be absolute and true.
Are you planning on using the names of the people involved, their actual real-life personae, history, life-circumstances? If so, then my hunch is you are entering a dicey area.
My understanding is if a person or events are considered to be in the public arena, then you, as a writer, have the right to write stories about them without obtaining their permission. For instance, when Oliver Stone directed the movie W. (from a screenplay by Stanley Weiser), I doubt he had to call up our then President and ask, “Hey, Shrub, can I do a movie about you?”
One issue would center around the concept of “public arena” (I believe there is another legal phrase instead of that). Exactly how public does someone have to be? Exactly how famous does someone have to be? I don’t know if there are any specific guidelines in this regard. Which leads me to suspect there are some, if not plenty of lawsuits brought by people in the public arena against storytellers disputing their right to tell their story without obtaining permission from the personalities involved.
So you see, even just scratching the surface of the issue results in some serious legal mumbo-jumbo. Suggestion: Can you change the name of the person and the specifics of the events? Would your story still work by stripping out those potential legally problematic elements?
If your answer is “no,” that your story needs to include the specific personality that inspired you in the first place, my advice is you would be wise to seek out their permission. This would allow you the creative freedom you need to tell the story you want, and protect you against future legal actions.
Calling all Legal Eagles! If you care to weigh in on the subject, please do. And you don’t even have to do your Atticus Finch impersonation, just drop by comments and opine away.
Speaking of Atticus Finch, what a great excuse to watch again one of the finest court scenes in movie history, the late great Gregory Peck offering up Finch’s summary statement:
http://movieclips.com/e/fiX3x/
On July 4th, who better to represent the best of American values than Atticus Finch.