: Including (public domain?) lyrics of a song in my screenplay? In my screenplay, the lyrics of "Shenandoah", a traditional American folk song, are heard once. May I publish a few lines with the

Vote Up Vote Down

Assuming you mean "Shenandoah", that one seems safe enough from a legal
standpoint, being quite old and a folk song with no clear author; but be
careful with more recent works. A work can be in the public domain
federally but still be under copyright in some states or encumbered in
other ways. Nina Paley was famously bitten by this when she made Sita
Sings the Blues. And, of course, international copyrights might apply
to anything.

(0)

Vote Up Vote Down

I'd say you're pretty safe with that one. Some sort of acknowledgements page is usually good form, or whatever the equivalent is in scriptwriting.

(0)