Dear Rich: Ian Fleming's Casino Royale entered the public domain in Japan in 2015, 50 years after his death. The same 50-year rule applies in Canada, where Fleming's character of James Bond is also in the public domain. In 2023, a Japanese musical, Casino Royale - My Name's Bond, based on Ian Fleming's Casino Royale novel, became the first stage play featuring the character of James Bond. (All roles in the play, including Bond, were played by women.) Do you have a list of countries where Casino Royale is in the public domain? Once a work enters the public domain, can it return ..read more

Dear Rich: If a reporter has consent to interview someone, can that reporter also play that recording during an interview on air?   The reporter can probably play the interview on air, but the answer depends on several factors. Consent: Oral, implied, or written. A consent to interview (also known as a 'release') is a promise by the interview subject not to sue over various legal claims -- for example, invasion of privacy, defamation, copyright infringement, and emotional distress. Consent can be oral, for example, if the interview subject agrees to the recording on the phone; it can be ..read more

Dear Rich: I run a volunteer-run/non-profit educational program for students who have failed the Naplex several times. I saw PowerPoints posted publicly on a school's website, which I thought would be useful. They are available publicly for everyone to see and download. The website does not have a notice about not being allowed to use them. I intended to cite the source and include the author's name in the title. Is it still considered copyright infringement to use them?  How do you tell if materials are public domain or fit under fair use? For readers that are unaware, t ..read more

Listen to Bessie Smith Dear Rich: I'm trying to determine if a recording of a song from 1923 is in the public domain for use as background music in a film scene. The song is 'Baby Won't You Please Come Home' by Bessie Smith. It was recorded on April 11, 1923, and written by Clarence Williams. My understanding is that this recording is now in the public domain because of the Music Modernization Act of 2018. You are correct! Both the composition (the song) and the sound recording (the record) are in the public domain. The song was written by Clarence Williams (though others have claimed ..read more

This dress was made by Mrs. G. R. (Dorothy) Overall of Caldwell, Kansas, in 1959 for the Cotton Bag Sewing Contest  Dear Rich: Would it be a violation of trademark or copyright law to take an empty livestock feed bag (with the name and/or logo of the company that produced the feed on it, along with usually a picture of an animal), cut it up, and sew it into a reusable grocery tote bag for sale? I have seen these items for sale on platforms like Etsy, but I know Etsy doesn't filter for IP law violations. Unfortunately, we can't give you a green light, only a yellow one. Alth ..read more

Dear Rich: I want to use a small portion of lyrics from a copyrighted song (We're Off To See The Wizard," by  E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen) in a first novel currently being written. Songview, the search service made available at the BMI website says the song is 50% controlled by the writer and 50% controlled by the publisher (100% ASCAP). Would permission from the publisher alone be sufficient in this situation?  Yes, permission from the song publisher (EMI Feist Music Publishing, P.O. Box 415000, Nashville, TN 37241-0814) would suffice. However, if you are only using a small porti ..read more

Trick photograph of man with two heads (1901)  Dear Rich: I have a new, unique book soon to be published about judging the quality of art. Every image in the book, from ancient to contemporary art,   is aesthetically critiqued, often with diagrams. There are no variables. It is consistent throughout. From everything I've researched, all the images in the book should come under fair use. What are your thoughts? I believe this is a simple yes or no question.  Polar interrogatives work well in psychology tests, congressional hearings, and wedding vows, but they're not suit ..read more

Frank Sinatra with eden ahbez (ahbez did not capitalize his name  believing that "only God and infinity deserved capitalization.")  Dear Rich: I wrote a poem using the entire song "Nature Boy" with the lyrics interspersed between my words, sort of a running narrative. Do I need permission to publish it in a book or other written form, or a video wherein the entire poem is recited?  Yes, you would need permission to use all the lyrics from "Nature Boy." The song was first published in 1948 and the estate of the songwriter, eden ahbez (1908-1995), claims&n ..read more

Dear Rich: I have written a play and movie script around a public matricide. I gained access to years of diaries, photos, and scrapbooks through a university's special collections library. The entire collection was placed on the curb for the trash collector in 1973 or 1974 but was then rescued and given to the library. I have read that the "change of ownership" of this collection is considered a publication. Is that correct? Included in the collection is an undated typewritten poem by the daughter-murderer (who died in 2007), probably written 1944-1949. Plus, there were threatening lette ..read more

Dear Rich: I am writing a martial arts mobile phone app. The app includes text describing the martial arts movements and choreography illustrating the moves. The martial arts forms have been relatively unchanged since the 1970’s. From what I can tell, the movements have been treated like they are in the public domain, without copyright or trademark notices. Is this accurate? The various martial arts schools use combinations of choreographic moves called "forms" or "kata" that date back centuries. So, most of what you want to use is in the public domain due to old age, and you can pe ..read more