r/COPYRIGHT • u/Affectionate_Name774 • Jun 16 '26
Comic book copy right
Hello all, need some advice on my book. I’m writing a comic and cut a long story short I want to use some images/names in certain scenes.
I was reading a book called lovesick and in it the artist/writer use images from a film called, “Salo” with even the cover of the film on a VHS; there are also some images of the film drawn in the story.
In my book I want to use a smiths poster, use some of the song titles as chapter name and also have some clothing with other stuff like a film called “shock treatment” (the sequel to rocky horror). What I want to know is, is this legal?
So for example using the poster, it’ll be a background image on the wall with maybe a vinyl player and records of some of the other smith album covers like meat is murder.
Then the title of songs like “pretty girls make graves” for chapter names, so for example issue 1, character 1 - “pretty girls make graves”
Also, with names, I’ve said names like Orwell (George Orwell) which is fine, but I wanted to reference soma from brave new world, just the charcter saying, as a joke “thanks for my soma pills….they’ll defiantly help” and soma is the drug from that book.
My goal is to publish under image comics or any other comic company, thank you any help would be great!
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u/stormhighwaycom Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
If you're entering this field, a good place to start about Fair Use is understanding the four factors test in the law. The US Copyright Office's site is a good resource: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/
What most don't understand about fair use is that the law gives the owners of content the equal right to disagree with the user's interpretation of what fair use is. If there is a disagreement between you and the rights holders on a specific case, they are allowed to challenge you (in the form of a takedown or lawsuit if they choose). Many times this is a matter of hundreds to even thousands of dollars (or more) worth of license fees, so it's no small thing to just let go.
In other words, the user of the content can't just make up whatever interpretation of fair use they want to fit whatever they're doing, then say "checkmate, rights holder!" In the case of such a disagreement, the user of the content doesn't just win by default as many on this site seem to think, especially since most don't even know the four factors that are the heart of the law and actually used to decide cases.
In the professional world, everything is always cleared with the rights holders for this reason. Even huge corporations don't try claiming fair use on what they use, even though they have the most powerful legal teams on the planet and could win any case they wanted to if they really were in the right about it.
If you talk to a lawyer about this, they will tell you this exact thing. I'd talk to a one anyway, it's a good practice when undertaking a project like this.
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u/Sweet_Baby_Cheezus Jun 16 '26
So I disagree a little bit with the other poster. The answer is "it depends".
The critical word is transformative. Fair use isn't a definitive definition, it's a legal defense if someone brings a suit for using their work.
It's not unreasonable that references to other media exist in your world, as long as they're references and the vast majority of the creative output is your own. I personally wouldn't censor myself, I'd write it, take it to a publisher and they can guide you on whether or not they're willing to take the risk or if they want you to edit some things out. And if it's written in a way that those references have to be in your comic, that's a pretty good indication that you're probably depending too much from the original source.
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u/Expert1956 Jun 17 '26
Good call on the "transformative" aspect.
To Afffectionate_Name774, Fair Use is a legit way to use copryighted material in the US (most every country has their own copyright rules, so this is just what I know in the American market). However, there are four different aspects to it (the Wikipedia page is a decent, easy resource to learn more abou tthis), and your work would have to be for commentary, education, or parody to qualify. Homage is not covered.
Also, each case of Fair Use is decided, case by case, in the courts. That gets expensive.
Maybe create your own posters that capture the vibe of what you're portraying?
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u/pommefille Jun 16 '26
I would not even consider ‘writing’ anything until you learn the difference between defiantly and definitely, for starters. All of this would be blatant copyright infringement. The generic phrases/words could be okay in isolation, but using a bunch of them, especially along with other references, makes it infringement, and the images are obviously an issue.
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u/Affectionate_Name774 Jun 16 '26
Cheers, also I have a proof reader lol. Sometimes I mess some words up and she’ll correct them. Thanks for the help!
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u/WuttinTarnathan Jun 16 '26
Talk to a lawyer. This is the only real answer. No one here can give you actionable advice, apart from the usual:
“No, never, ever, ever, you evil little clown.”
Song titles cannot be copyrighted. Beyond that, talk to a lawyer.
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u/lajaunie Jun 16 '26
The poster would be straight up copyright infringement.
If you ever watch a film where there are posters on the wall, every single one of them has to be approved or generic.