copyrights of message board/forum messages?
- August 29, 2018 @ 12:29ammtlv says:
i make short animation clips, and for one of my animations i am basing the script on a story someone posted on a reddit message board.
i didn't just copy the message, i wrote a whole story inspired by it, i want to record voice it and than animate it.
is this ok...? or could this be considered copyright infringement?
i tried to ask permission but he doesn't answer personal messages.
- August 30, 2018 @ 7:43amcmyers8 says:
Under US copyright law, ideas are not eligible for copyright protection. As such, anyone is free to create works that fall into a particular genre (e.g. TV shows about doctors, spy novels, alien invasion movies) and each individual can gain copyright protection for his or her creative expression of that idea. Therefore, if you are simply taking the idea from the story you found online (e.g. it's a story about an adventure in a desert and your animation is about an adventure in a desert) then there are likely not any copyright infringement concerns. However, if you are pulling key elements from the story you found online (e.g. character names, the plot line, directly quoting dialogue) then copyright considerations could come into play as you would be reusing components of that person’s work that may be eligible for copyright protection. You can consider using the fair use exemption found in Section 107 of US copyright law when looking to reuse copyrighted works created by others. This tool will help you learn more about fair use and can aid you in making a fair use determination: http://librarycopyright.net/resources/fairuse/index.php. You could also consider reaching out to the person who created the original story and ask his or her permission to use it as a basis for your animated clip.
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