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FROM: M Chadwick

Question: In my novel I want to quote the entire poem "How Do I love Thee" giving Eliz. Browning credit; also I want to write all the lyrics of a Beatle song, giving them credit.  Is it permissible? Or, in the latter case, would it be better to just use excerpts--- a few words from the song--also giving Beatles credit?  Thanks for your help.

Answer:

Dear M Chadwick,

This is a very pertinent point you raise and is something all writers should be very careful about. It can be a minefield.

Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning died in June 1861 and therefore her works are technically out of copyright, you still have to consider the question "Are her works held in an estate which holds the copyright or are they public property?" I've done some surfing but cannot find any repository of her works that claims copyright on them This doesn't mean there isn't one, just that I couldn't find it. On the other hand several websites seem to quote her poem, in full, quite freely. One of these, http://www.mediawebapps.com/picturelike.php?id=728, puts this disclaimer at the bottom of the page:

"All images and quotes remain the intellectual property of their respective originators. We do not assert any claim of copyright for individual quotes and images. By quoting authors we do not in any way mean to imply their endorsement or approval of our site or its contents."

As to the Beatles songs, an article by Renee C. Quinn in 2009 titled 'Michael Jackson and the Beatles Copyrights' states that Michael Jackson owned these copyrights, but that following his death Sony/ATV does. She says, "Sony/ATV holds the rights not only to more than 200 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but also has rights to songs written by many others as well." (http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/07/01/michael-jackson-and-the-beatles-copyrights/id=4363/)

I would suggest they are the people to contact for permission to quote.

On the other hand, if only a small quote were to be used used it is most likely that no complaint would be brought against you providing it was not used in any derogatory way against the author/songwriter.

These thoughts and opinions are my own, and at the end of the day when, hopefully, you come to publish your book your agent/publisher will look into the rights and wrongs of it all and advise you accordingly. And if you've noticed the absence of a definitive answer in all of the above, it's because there isn't one! 

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