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I used to have long discussions with someone who is now in her late eighties. At the time, I was writing up these discussions because I thought I might like to publish a novel. Will I need her permission to go ahead and publish? I haven’t used any of her actual words.
11/03/2010
Ideas and information are not protected by copyright, but in this situation there is a very real possibility that you will co-own copyright with the person (or with their estate, if they have died).
This is because, even though you have not used the person’s actual words, you may have structured your novel around those stories, and the other person may therefore have a strong claim as a co-author of your work and therefore a co-owner of copyright.
Every situation depends on its own facts, but in this case, you may have been best off discussing with the person the fact that you were writing a novel based on your discussions and documenting how copyright issues would be dealt with.