copyright disclaimer for poetry satire and parody

BlueCloud · Oct 11, 2013

I'm self-publishing a book of humorous poetry, including parodies and satire.

What should I put on the copyright page as a disclaimer to prevent people suing me?

I've discovered this example, but I'm not sure it applies to my book, because I do sometimes mention famous people in a parodic way:

"This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dea, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental."

I did ask my lawyer, but he didn't know the answer as he doesn't deal with publishing. He thinks I should consult a literary lawyer. I understand the fee would be rather high.

Any examples for use in a book of humorous poetry?

Thanks.

J. Tanner · Oct 11, 2013

BlueCloud said:
What should I put on the copyright page as a disclaimer to prevent people suing me?

...

I did ask my lawyer, but he didn't know the answer as he doesn't deal with publishing. He thinks I should consult a literary lawyer. I understand the fee would be rather high.

You should consider taking your lawyer's advice.

IANAL, but here's my non-lawyerly opinion.

Claiming "parody" is a legal defense against copyright infringement. You don't get to state your defense until you're in court. That means if your parody includes someone else's copyrighted material there's nothing you can put anywhere in your front matter that mitigates that. Ergo, you don't need to write anything special. You need to consider your personal tolerance for risk, the odds of a lawsuit, and whether publishing material that potentially violates someone's copyright is worth it to you.

(I did something similar in a story years ago. Never got sued. <shrug>)

Polenth · Oct 11, 2013

You can't stop people suing you. The big issue for checking with a legal person would be based on the content, as we can't really say if it's likely that someone will or won't try to sue you. That you're asking suggests you think there's something that might make someone want to sue you.

As for the statement, I looked at the statements in the books on my shelves when I wrote mine. There's some variation, but they mostly boil down to two versions, which I'd call entirely coincidental and used fictitiously. Some books use both bits of it and it doesn't appear to be connected to the content (a book set in a real city might have the coincidence statement and a book set in a fantasy world might say things are used fictitiously). So, look at some books.

BlueCloud · Oct 11, 2013

Thanks for your replies, J. Tanner and Polenth. Looks like I'm going to the literary lawyer.

Polenth,

The big issue for checking with a legal person would be based on the content, as we can't really say if it's likely that someone will or won't try to sue you. That you're asking suggests you think there's something that might make someone want to sue you.

Nope. That I'm asking merely means that I'm too stupid and inexperienced to know. My parodies are gentle and mostly flattering to the people named. This is my first book.

In searching the web for an answer, I found this article on a law firm's blog. I'm Canadian. The article discusses a new Canadian bill, Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, which "fully enshrined into Canadian law" the use of parody and satire, as part of "fair dealing."

http://stewartmckelveyblogs.com/The...pyright-act-a-birth-or-merely-a-confirmation/

So I'm not really worried; I'm just trying to be prudent and cautious without being totally scared off. It's a litigious* world we live in. (* I learned this word on The Good Wife. Who says tv isn't educational?)

Old Hack · Oct 12, 2013

BlueCloud said:
I did ask my lawyer, but he didn't know the answer as he doesn't deal with publishing. He thinks I should consult a literary lawyer.

A group of random people you've encountered on the internet are not able to give you appropriate legal advice.

Listen to your lawyer.

Locking this now.

copyright disclaimer for poetry satire and parody

BlueCloud

Word Maven

J. Tanner

Polenth

Mushroom

BlueCloud

Word Maven

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman