Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hey all,

For starters, in case anyone wonders, I am on hiatus from "Fairy Tale Village" for about six to twelve months. I'm hacking out a few short stories and maybe a novella, then I'll get back to that novel. It was just getting way too deep under my skin and I needed a break.

So, here's a cover for a short story I'm dabbling with. I like the cover and would like to use it, that's not the question. The question is, do you think I'd be in any danger of copyright infringement? I want Teddy to be looking at a poster of Matthew Broderick, but I can't use the actual photo. I know that. Is this too close? Do I need to make it a little more vague?

I'm no attorney, but I don't see any copyright infringement issues. Great cover. Looking forward to the story. Hugs

I mean, I can see what it is/who it's supposed to be, but I can't imagine that would be a copyright violation. Of course, like Sam said, I'm no attorney or anything, but I would assume it would be fine. Looks good too :)

Yeah, that's what I was going for. I want it to look enough like the poster for Ferris Bueller's Day Off that people will recognize it, but not so much that it could land me in trouble with Paramount. The whole story is really a tribute / homage to John Hughes (especially Ferris Bueller), but I know that won't absolve me of any copyright infringement, if Paramount decides to be stinky about it.

I don't see that you should have an issues with it. There are no features that make the person identifiable, just hints. They cann't say that you are copying anything without more details that would identify it with their picture. Other than the title, I wouldn't relate it to the poster. I'm not a lawyer, but you are far enough away, they can't positively say it's their poster so I believe you should be safe.

I can't speak about copyright infringement, but do you want it to look like they're kissing? Not knowing anything about the story, it may or may not be a good thing to imply, but I know I can't be the only person who thought it.

Phillip wrote: "I can't speak about copyright infringement, but do you want it to look like they're kissing?"

It doesn't really bother me, but I will move Teddy or Matthew a bit to the side, just in case Matthew Broderick happens to see it some day and objects to kissing a fourteen year old boy.

In an earlier version I wasn't paying much attention to the positioning until I realized Matthew's mouth would be somewhere else on Teddy's anatomy and, yeah, it just looked wrong.

Dwayne wrote: "Phillip wrote: "I can't speak about copyright infringement, but do you want it to look like they're kissing?"

It doesn't really bother me, but I will move Teddy or Matthew a bit to the side, just ..."

lol

I think, since you have questions about copyright infringements, that would be a good enough reason to steer clear. If someone were to use art, or any other making, and a lawsuit is filed against the individual, the said individual would have much difficulty in mounting a defense, knowing that he/she had considered the use of the art might've been an infringement issue.