Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

50%
+0 −0
Q&A I am an author that wrote a biography on a singer. Do I need to get permission to turn the book into a screenplay?

There are three possibilities: Your contract addresses this issue. Follow it. If you're not sure, ask a lawyer. Your contract does not address this issue. Go ask for permission. You somehow wr...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:36Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41649
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:42:40Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41649
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:42:40Z (almost 5 years ago)
There are three possibilities:

1. Your contract addresses this issue. Follow it. If you're not sure, ask a lawyer.
2. Your contract does not address this issue. Go ask for permission.
3. You somehow wrote a biography without a contract. Go ask for permission.

The next question is permission from whom:

- There's the copyright holder first of all. That's probably you, but be certain of that. 
- There's the publisher (who you definitely have a contract with) because they will have put certain rights into the contract. One common one has to do with adaptations. They may have right of first refusal to adapt it or sell an adaptation. Or they may require a cut of the proceeds. Or something else.
- And there is the singer. You do not need permission to write a story about a public figure. That's why there are authorized and unauthorized biographies. But it is a kindness to ask for permission (and it makes it more likely the person will cooperate with you and give you information). Especially if you already did so for the book. If you have a contract with the singer, it may stipulate that you share proceeds or something else.
#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-27T00:39:01Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 1