I tried to find this topic but didnt see it anywhere. I'm aware of having a specific song play through a scene is bad. But how about having a character say the lyrics?

I was thinking of having a character sing a few lyrics from a song, but I'm unsure if that will be copyright infringement.

Gabe

Unless they are considered public domain they are copyrighted.  Even Happy Birthday is copyrighted.

Quoted from mcornetto Even Happy Birthday is copyrighted.

Happy Birthday is ridiculously copyrighted.  Billions of dollars a year.

I actually just inquired about this, and from what I gather, getting the rights to 5 seconds of a song as opposed to an entire song is a lot cheaper.   My fear was that you're paying for the song no matter how much of it you use, but that seems to not be the case.

Anyway, if you think the song fits, go ahead and use it.  If it becomes an issue down the road you can always change it.

Don't ask me to cite a source on this, 'cause I can't.  But you can supposedly use up to two lines of a song without paying royalties.


Phil

Thanks guys. Copyright gets so complicated.

I guess I can use it for the time being and if for some luck that it gets picked up, I'll inquire about the song rights and what not. And like Mike said, I can change it. Also, to be on the safe side, I'll post a cite page of the song to make sure I'm not copying. lol.  

Gabe

If your script gets picked up then It will be up to the production company to obtain the rights for everything.

I think you'd be the last person they would come after with a lawsuit. I wouldn't worry about it. The production company would only run into trouble if the film went on to be succesful and make a decent amount of money. Leave it up to them to decide.

Quoted from Dreamlogic If your script gets picked up then It will be up to the production company to obtain the rights for everything.

At the same time, it may stop the production company from picking up your work.


Phil

Ifit comes to that, I'll remove it. But for now, I'll see how the script will work with the song in. If people have a problem with it, I'll take it off.

Gabe

That sounds like the best plan.

A film company isn't going to say no to a great script just because one character sings two lines (or whatever) of a song.

It's not like you're remaking AN AMERICAN IN PARIS.