Famous Quotes?

[BantamCityGames]

Hi, I did a quick forum search and didn't see any information on this subject so here goes...

I was wondering what the legal obligations are for using famous quotes in a game (maybe from bartletts or wherever)??

Are these considered public if you cite the author? or do the standard copyright laws apply?

[Mark Sheeky]

The standard copyright laws would apply. It depends on where the quote was made. Quotes from a book or film for example will be different from a political speech or archaic source.

Mark
Cornutopia Games
http://www.cornutopia.net

[princec]

As I understand it you are explicitly allowed to quote short passages without restraint. Otherwise life would become exceedingly difficult for critics, reviewers, and other journalists.

Cas :)

[BantamCityGames]

What about quoting say Nietzsche or Confucioius?

[terin]

I think confucious' copyright on his quote ran out ... say... at least a thousand years ago... maybe 2 or 3 thousand ;-).

Usually all you do is state the source when using a quote BUT even that isn't neccessary.

Quotes have no laws about them and their use restriction, its just "proper" writing technique to quote the source.

[unreason]

It's usually good manners to cite a quote. But I think that if you don't use too much written material, copyright doesn't apply. So if you use a few sentences, that's ok. A chapter, probably not.

[TMAN]

I think confucious' copyright on his quote ran out ... say... at least a thousand years ago... maybe 2 or 3 thousand ;-).

Usually all you do is state the source when using a quote BUT even that isn't neccessary.

Quotes have no laws about them and their use restriction, its just "proper" writing technique to quote the source.

using a quote without citation is called plagiarism. DO NOT DO IT. Even if the guy saying it has been dead for a few thousand years. It's a nasty habit with serious legal consequences.

this (http://www.rbs2.com/plag.htm) has some good info. I know there are better sites, but they escape me at the moment.

To answer the question, you may use a quote, but always, always cite it.

[unreason]

using a quote without citation is called plagiarism. DO NOT DO IT. Even if the guy saying it has been dead for a few thousand years. It's a nasty habit with serious legal consequences.

this (http://www.rbs2.com/plag.htm) has some good info. I know there are better sites, but they escape me at the moment.

To answer the question, you may use a quote, but always, always cite it.


Yeah. Also, although the quote may not be copyrighted, the translation might be copyrighted by the translator...

[RedKnight]

I think confucious' copyright on his quote ran out ... say... at least a thousand years ago... maybe 2 or 3 thousand ;-).



Good.
Then we can use all the quote we can find from .
Lao Tze, Sun Tze, Buddha, Bodhidharma,
Ramayan, Mahabharat and the Bhagvad Gita

With verse and sources of course

[terin]

I didn't suggest that it was a good thing to plagerize.

Good manners and legality... legality is pretty unenforceable in this department. The legal side (if there is any) relies on good manners to keep the peace with quotes.

And, if I recall, the attempt to copyright quotes and phrases has not had a difinitive decision reached on it (Refer back to the attempt to copyright the phrase "You're Fired" from The Apprentice). So, certainly, older quotes are fair game.

So, cite quotes, its rude not to. Don't do it out of fear of legal reprecussion, that'd be like "not beating your wife on the courthouse steps on a sunday" because there is a law that says you shouldn't. (That is a State of Florida law... which says nothing about beating your wife on the courthouse steps on any other day)... you shouldn't beat your wife because you shouldn't beat your wife :-)

(that was my best analogy in a long time)

[TMAN]

I didn't suggest that it was a good thing to plagerize.

Good manners and legality... legality is pretty unenforceable in this department. The legal side (if there is any) relies on good manners to keep the peace with quotes.

And, if I recall, the attempt to copyright quotes and phrases has not had a difinitive decision reached on it (Refer back to the attempt to copyright the phrase "You're Fired" from The Apprentice). So, certainly, older quotes are fair game.

So, cite quotes, its rude not to. Don't do it out of fear of legal reprecussion, that'd be like "not beating your wife on the courthouse steps on a sunday" because there is a law that says you shouldn't. (That is a State of Florida law... which says nothing about beating your wife on the courthouse steps on any other day)... you shouldn't beat your wife because you shouldn't beat your wife :-)

(that was my best analogy in a long time)

Well, yes, yes, of course, but as so many stories and and suits have proven, the politeness argument simply doesn't set in for a surprising amount of people, so why not mention the legal reason?