legalities of using real life events...

[carnaltrick]

Hrm- where to begin...***** has been completely off the wall lately. So much so, that it may be something people would want to read about. Maybe even pay for. I am not talking about a pornographic or sexually explicit piece even. (I'm not against those, however )

My question: I was simply wondering if anyone is familiar with what sort of legalities can be used against an author if they write a fictional story based on true events and then sell it. Would the parties whose lives are used need to be compensated if money was made? What if names were changed? If the author was a primary 'character' involved, wouldn't they have full access to documenting their life?

Links or personal knowledge are both appreciated

 

[Weird Harold]

My question: I was simply wondering if anyone is familiar with what sort of legalities can be used against an author if they write a fictional story based on true events and then sell it. Would the parties whose lives are used need to be compensated if money was made?

This is the opinion of a layperson, and not a lawyer, and should NOT be taken as the final word on the legalities. If you're in doubt, consult a lawyer.

I do not think that persons used as the basis for a fictional character are entitled to comensation.

However, if you create a story that is libelous or defames the character of someone, you might leave yourself open to a lawsuit on those grounds. Excepting the possiblility of a libel suit, I do not believe there is any legal bar to using real people in your story, or basing your story on real people -- most authors do base their characters on real people to some extent.

 

[Uther_Pendragon]

Hrm- where to begin...***** has been completely off the wall lately. So much so, that it may be something people would want to read about. Maybe even pay for. I am not talking about a pornographic or sexually explicit piece even. (I'm not against those, however )

My question: I was simply wondering if anyone is familiar with what sort of legalities can be used against an author if they write a fictional story based on true events and then sell it. Would the parties whose lives are used need to be compensated if money was made? What if names were changed? If the author was a primary 'character' involved, wouldn't they have full access to documenting their life?

Links or personal knowledge are both appreciated

:
Warning. I am not a lawyer.
:
My understanding is much like Weird Harold's.
People in a story do not have copyright on real events.
They can, however, sue for libel or defamation of
character. (Despite the axiom, truth is not an unanswerable
defense against a libel suit.)
And, of course, once you have put it into a fictional story,
you are facing some problems of credibility. "If it was
true, why did the author change the so many parts of the
story?" OTOH, technically, a person must be recognisable
the story to bring a libel or defamation suit. If you had
a secret affair with Mary, then writing "My affair with Jane," isn't libelous just because *Mary* knows who it's about. OTOH, if her next boyfriend can recognize the description, then the absolute truth can be defamatory.

 

[Jigs]

I am a lawyer, although I don't claim any particular expertise or experience in that field. It is my opinion that Ultra_Pendragon gave an answer that is pretty close to the way things are in general terms.

The best of us, however, could not answer this question in generalities and feel very comfortable. In the first place the prerequisites to liability will vary from state to state. In the second place liability will depend upon the facts of the individual case. No one could render a valid opinion without knowing the exact story, what the actual events were, and how recognizable the events and people in the story might be. Even then capable lawyers might disagree. There are no cut and dried formulas that can be depended upon. A lawyer's opinion in a specific case always depends upon his intelligence, knowledge, experience, and above all his instincts. That's why some lawyers get paid more than anothers.

A variable not mentioned by Ultra_Pendragon is the notoriety of the people involved. Some newspaper man who covered the first Clinton presidential campaign wrote an anonymous and rather unflattering semi-fictional satire (the name of which escapes me for the moment) about the Clinton strategy and tactics. The author was eventually uncovered but no lawsuit was ever filed, partly I would imagine because it would be bad politics to pour more fuel on that kind of political fire. Probably equally important, however, Bill Clinton is a public figure. The law of most states gives no privacy protection to public figures. Moreover, as a general proposition, public figures cannot recover for defamation in the absence of a venal intent to do harm.

Another variable not mentioned by Ultra_Pendragon is the right of privacy. Separate and apart from law of defamation, many states will protect private individuals from the invasion of their privacy on matters to which the public has no right or interest except for scandal.

I would suggest if you feel your story does not completely obscure the events it is based upon, and most important, if your characters can be identified in any way as real people, you ought to hire counsel expert in this field. No general rules will protect an amateur, and you may have an exposure to liability even if the story is completely true, and not at all defamatory.

Jigs

 

[carnaltrick]

thanks

I appreciate the comments greatly- thanks to all who replied. It seems like this is a much trickier issue than I had expected it to be. Well, law or no, I want to write this story before I lose it to time. I guess the legal issues can wait until publishing, if that ever happens If not, at least i can post it up here.