I'm writing a screenplay that is very loosly based

[FearTheMullet]

I am writing a screen play and I am using a simmilar setting, a few characters are extremly loosly based on a few on the book, and a couple of plot points are taken, but if you read it you probaly couldn't compare the two. What I am asking is how strict are these copy right laws. Could I get into trouble for this. I know a lot of moviies like Armagedon and Deep Impact are so simmilar but they get away with it, this is kindda how mine is.

[darthshawn]

ask the people who made West Side Story.

[shakespeareskin]

well it depends on the book you took it from. is it out of copyright? And Westside Story was based on Romeo & Juliet, and Shakespeare is VERY much out of copyright...

[juliesh]

I believe that you will only get in trouble if the author of the book can show that you used his or her work without compensating him or her for it. For instance, if the book has been optioned to someone who paid for the option, you will really throw a monkey wrench into things if your film beats the other one to the marketplace. However, if the two works are not fundamentally the same, you should not have a problem. It would be different if the book were based on research (like the life of an historical figure, etc.). Here in Philadelphia a woman wrote a play based on a biography, and had to pay out to the biographer for helping herself to his research.

[LAmind]

I've seen movies that I KNEW were based on books I read. I've ven seen shows. And I really doubted that the makers bothered to get right. It's hardly notisible in the movies but if you read those books like me you'd see the similaraties. So I guess you can get away with it as long as you don't make it IDENTICAL.

-Ivan

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"A place for everything and everything in it's place".

[Vertino]

juliesh is right, the author can only do something it they can prove its a copyright infringement.

Take THE MATRIX for example... looks like a pretty original movie?! nope, the main ideas were far-too-similar to a DC Comic (The Invisibles) - the writer of the comic book has been trying to sue the Matrix Guys for months...

BTW, if anyone makes the smallest comparison, then call it "HOMAGE"

(ie. the scar comparison scene from JAWS is ripped off in both Leathal Weapon 3 & Chasing Amy... "HOMAGE")

[deepcope]

why not just write to the auther if there still alive ? ask if you can make a screenplay, make them think your just making a little no budget film for fun which you might screen down at your local pub or at a festival and hope they dont care, if they do just do it anyway ! and hope they dont find out !, nothing can be lost by asking