On 14th January 2023 we welcomed Theo Jones, contracts advisor at the Society of Authors, to talk to our delegates about copyright law as it relates to writing about living or recently-dead people.
The event addressed questions such as:
How do you write about living people and not get sued?
Who owns the copyright on your mother’s diary?
Does fictionalising the story make some problems go away?
His talk was recorded with permission.
Disclaimer: listening to this talk does not constitute legal advice, and if you have any specific questions about your own situation you can contact Theo and other advisors via the Society of Authors here.
Theo Jones
Theo Jones is a Contracts Advisor at the Society of Authors, advising members on publishing and other contracts and issues. He is co-secretary of the SoA’s professional Scriptwriters Group.
From questions of ownership to that of copyright and the need to clear rights or permission, in this talk Theo will attempt to offer strategic clarity as to how these issues might be considered in practice including where you might want to be particularly careful and whether fictionalizing a story is a good solution.