I have an idea for a book. I will be soliciting responses to question, mostly by mail. I am curious as to how (and if) I need to inform the respondants that their responses will perhaps show up in a book that could be sold.
I guess this could be thought of a little like one of those “365 most quotable things ever said about golf” books or something like that, but not really.
I’m basically looking to cover myself, so I don’t do all the work and then get my pants sued off or something.
Is there a reason why you wouldn’t want to inform people that you’re going to be using their responses?
Are you going to be quoting people or just compiling statistics?
If you’re quoting, are you going to be using people’s names?
–Cliffy
You should let them know up front that you’re planning to use their responses for a book. You may also want to have them sign a release (It needn’t be complicated: “I give Garfield226 permission to use this quote in his book, ‘1001’ best quotes about cheese” is all you really need). The release will give you all the protection you need.
Even without the relese, you need to tell everyone why you’re collecting things.
You should talk to a lawyer.
People posting here are providing their well-intended but usually meaningless and irrelevant thoughts.
People posting here who know the law may be describing the general legal context, but your situation may be different. The topic of “fair usage” of quotations by other people is a complex area, especially if you are making profit from the thoughts of others. Find a lawyer to whom you can present all the circumstances of exactly what you are trying to do, and get his/her legal opinion.
Protect yourself. If someone sues you, a defense of “Gee, someone on a Message Board told me it was OK” is useless.
Quotes with names.
There really isn’t a reason I couldn’t tell them it was for a book, I just thought some people might worry about the legal aspects of it all or something…
Would it be possible to include a disclaimer sort of thing in the original letter along the lines of: “By replying to this letter, you give me the right to publish your reply.” or somesuch? That way, if they didn’t want to be in the book, they didn’t have to reply. Or would that even be legal?
I repeat: Talk to a lawyer about your specific circumstances.
Yeah…that was a simulpost before, and it timed out on me, so I never got back to look…
I would contact a real lawyer if I ever decided to actually do it, I was only wondering what the general consensus was, because I imagine whether or not I’d do anything with it would have a lot to to with how much of a pain it would be to go through consent forms and whatnot.
Since I do know there are legal people on the boards, and also writers who may have quoted folks in their books, if I’ve been confusing at all, I’ll try to sum it up and throw in another angle:
I want to write (perhaps “compile” would be a better word) a book. This book would consist of people’s responses to a question/questions. Directly quoted and attributed. I would mainly be collecting the quotes by mail, writing them a letter asking to contribute and mail me back what they wish to contribute.
An additional query: Would there be any difference in my procedure if the people who answer me are public figures (government folks, celebrities, etc.)?
(Yes, yes, get a lawyer…I assure you I will get a lawyer before I move forward…I just want to know what the consensus of the people here is…I don’t consider this professional advice, I consider it sitting around a table at a restaurant talking about it or somesuch…)
Get a lawyer. If the lawyer doesn’t tell you to get contracts from everyone, get a new lawyer. Repeat if necessary.
One more time - Get A Lawyer.
If you are going to attribute the quotes, you are in a very complex position. See Lawyers, Entertainment (I think, IANAL, YMMV, this advice may not apply in your circumstance, and if you sue, I will swear it was the cat who typed this)