Re: Author's liability question
- From: Lars Eighner <usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 14:58:40 -0600
In our last episode,
<1138220553.676175.91530@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
the lovely and talented mikeyankee@xxxxxxx
broadcast on misc.writing:
> Two scenarios:
> 1. Imagine a short story in which the protagonist meets and interacts
> with real public figures -- Jimmy Carter and Madonna, for instance
> (just to pull a couple of names out of the hat). The context is
> clearly fictional, involving humorous situations that would be highly
> improbable in the real world. The storyline is mildly lampooning but
> not slanderous, scandalous or mean-minded. Further, it is not clear
> whether the encounters actually "happened" within this fictional
> context or were imagined by the protagonist.
> 2. Imagine a different story in which a real media figure -- Wolf
> Blitzer on CNN, let's say -- report some news event that figures in the
> story but didn't happen in the real world. For example, when the
> protagonist phones home from a business trip, his wife says, "Better
> turn the TV on, Louie. Wolf Blitzer just reported on CNN that the
> biggest earthquake in a century has flattened Toyko."
> Are these scenarios legally equivalent? What, if any, legal worries
> should the author have? What are the general legal principles
> involved? Can anyone point me to an on-line reference?
IANAL, but you could start by looking up Hustler Magazine v.
Jerry Falwell.
You pretty much have to go out of your way trying to libel a
public person in order to do so. Just about every politician
and Wolf Blitzer qualify as public persons. One of the many
hurdles for a public person to establish libel is that a
reasonable person would believe the account of the public
person's actions was true - so stuff that happens in a story
presented as fiction is pretty much in the clear. Another
hurdle is that what is attributed to the public person must, in
some way, hurt the person's reputation. So if for purposes of
the story Tokyo is flattened and in the story Wolf reports it,
where is the harm?
(None of this applies to sticking Fred down the street or you
otherwise anonymous ex into a work.)
These kinds of referrences, however, tend to date a work, and
may not wear well in time. If you write today that Wolf
reports Tokyo flattened, we know that hasn't happened, but it
could happen tomorrow. But suppose you read a story in which
Edward R. Murrow reports that Godzilla has dismantled Tokyo -
has a somewhat different effect, no? That story, had it been
written in the '50s, might still be fresh today if it had used a
fictional newsman instead of Murrow.
Now you have Forrest Gump meeting Kennedy and all. Well, Gump
is tied to a particular time and place. His story doesn't make
sense without Vietnam, because it is the story of that era as
much as it is his story. It was a period piece when it was
written and it always will be a period piece. So, is your
character trying to get Madonna's autograph, because there is
some particular reason your character is tied to that era?
How will it read when no one knows who Madonna is (Oh, the
children's book author!)?
--
Lars Eighner usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.larseighner.com/
You mean Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?
.
- References:
- Author's liability question
- From: mikeyankee@xxxxxxx
- Author's liability question
- Prev by Date: Re: Author's liability question
- Next by Date: Victoria Strauss -- What Real Agents Don't Do
- Previous by thread: Re: Author's liability question
- Next by thread: Re: Author's liability question
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
