My initial thought is that if the stories are
presented as accounts of factual events, then the
facts may not be protected, only the original
expressions used to relay the facts. Therefore, if you
do not copy a script, but merely paraphrase the tales
previously used, you should be free of infringement.
Although, that does not mean that you won't make some people mad or get into some trouble.
I wonder if the historians would have more protection for their stories if they admitted that they made the stories up out of whole cloth. Seems to cut against their interest, but would it bolster their claim for infringement?
One more comment, "to my knowledge there was nothing contractual" won't help if he still has a copy of the contract.
Best of luck,
Keith
> I'm involved with a non-profit organization that
> regularly gives "walking
> ghost tours" every October. In 1998, before I was
> involved with the
> non-profit, they approached a local historian and
> asked him to develop a
> tour for them. To my knowledge there was nothing
> contractual. He conducted
> some research and gave the tour. The next year they
> had him back for two
> tours ... then three tours. It has been an annual
> tradition, typically with
> three October tours. The historian was paid by the
> non-profit to give the
> tours.
>
> This year, he is not available, though I heard that
> he will be giving the
> same tour for another organization.
>
> Regardless, the non-profit that I'm involved with
> wants to continue the
> annual tours as they have become a fundraiser for
> the organization and local
> residents expect us to give the tour every year.
>
> My question - can we legally use the same content as
> the previous tours?
>
> I think I know the answer, but wanted everyone's
> opinion. There was
> apparently a lawsuit in 2000-2001 by the author of
> several books on
> Gettysburg ghosts. He sued another tour operator
> for using his stories.
> The court, in a summary judgment, found that the
> other tour operator had not
> violated his copyrights because the "tales" are
> word-of-mouth, not an
> original creation. He of course maintained the
> copyrights to his books, but
> not the "stories" themselves as they were derivative
> works.
>
> Most of the stories on the proposed tour are
> well-known, anyway. In some
> cases a reporter went on a previous tour and
> featured a few of the stories
> in an article. In other cases, people went on the
> tour, learned a new
> story, and told their friends. And some are just
> long-standing legends.
>
> So can the non-profit proceed without fear of
> copyright infringement?
>
> Also, I had personally collected stories over the
> years before ever going on
> the ghost tour. I've been compiling some of these
> stories into an e-book
> that I wanted to post, for free, online. In one
> instance there is a legend
> of a local spirit that has been "haunting" the town
> for centuries. It has
> been written about many times over the years. But,
> the historian, on a
> tour, mentioned that he spoke with someone who "ran
> over" the spirit one
> night (in that they were driving, thought they saw
> something, and ran into
> it but of course nothing happened). Would that
> story be able to be re-told
> - verbally and/or on paper? The historian didn't
> write it, only relayed the
> story in front of an audience.
>
> This is supposed to be all in fun (and fundraising
> for the non-profit), but
> we don't want to get anyone mad or in trouble.
>
> Thanks for your insight!
>
> - Scott
>
>
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