QUESTION OF THE MONTH: Using Quotations

QUESTION

Dear CSM:

We are currently putting together our first documentary. We have been very careful to get releases for interviews we have conducted and from people and locations we have filmed at. We have reviewed your
website in this process and it has been very useful.

We do have a question, however. We would like to make use of some text quotations in the course of the documentary. In most cases these are no more than one sentence. Many have been found on internet
quotation sites - some are from sources that were written long ago and others are from more recent works. The quotes will be used to elaborate on, or introduce points that are made in the film. If we utilize such limited quotes within our film, is that likely to constitute Fair Use?

Any help that you could give on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

--Andrew

ANSWER

Dear Andrew:

I’m glad you found the website helpful!

I'd like to direct you to a couple of resources. First, please take a look at the Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use. In the statement, the four categories we outline will help you contextualize what is considered fair and reasonable quotation by other doc filmmakers. To see this in practice, also look at examples from other doc films on our website.

As to your specific questions, most copyrighted material made before 1923 is perfectly acceptable to use because it has fallen into the public domain. The document
Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States is a document that will explain what is (and is not) in the public domain.

As long as you weren't copying the image of the actual website where the quotes appear (unless your documentary film discusses quotation websites), the owners of the quotes are the authors of the quotes. Quotation websites usually rely on Fair Use to reproduce material. Therefore, if the authors’ work is not in the public domain, you should rely on appropriate Fair Use of their copyrighted material, and as I said, the Statement should help you with that.

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