A short YouTube video by Julie Broad advising authors about legal risks of quoting copyrighted material in books. Key points: song lyrics require permission and can incur large statutory damages (up to $150,000 per willful infringement), movie lines may sometimes be fair use depending on brevity and purpose (commentary/criticism) but can raise trademark/affiliation issues, and modern poems generally require permission unless in the public domain (e.g., published before 1923). The speaker recommends removing risky quotes or consulting a publisher or copyright attorney for close questions.
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Do you know what costs more than hiring Taylor Swift to sing at your book launch? Using her lyrics without permission. Quoting any song lyrics in your book is problematic, but after I shared that on a short video, I got so many questions like, can I quote this movie? What if I include this poem? So if you're wondering if you can quote that in your book, this video is for you. All right, let's knock one of these down right away. The easy one, in my view, but the one that people often do not know about, and that's song lyrics. But even just a line or two like hello from the other side can cost you up to $150,000 per infringement if the court decides you did it willfully. But maybe you're thinking, well, I gave credit to the artist, eh? Credit is not permission, and song lyrics require permission to be used. So the safest thing you can do? Remove them. Now, what about a line from your favorite movie? Using a short, well known line or phrase from a movie like may the force be with you may be considered fair use if it's brief, used for commentary, criticism, or as part of a discussion, and it does not make up a substantial part of your book. Proper attribution respects intellectual property rights and helps clarify you're not claiming the words as your own. Some famous lines like I'll be back might be trademarked for specific uses, and using them in a way that confuses consumers or implies affiliation could create legal issues. What about poems? Poems, especially modern ones, are protected by copyright law, and their short length means even a few lines can be considered a substantial part of the work. For most copyrighted poems, you must get permission from the copyright holder, and you have to do this before quoting, even if it's just for a few lines. The exception is if the poem was published before 1923 or the copyright has otherwise expired. Then you can quote it freely. However, attribution is still recommended. For close legal questions, consult your publisher or my recommendation a copyright attorney.
