Posted by Raikus at pcp657265pcs.micske01.fl.comcast.net on March 09, 2004 at 11:33:16:
In Reply to: Help! Is this a copyright violation? posted by Cthulhukat42 on March 09, 2004 at 11:28:26:
: As I said below, I'm putting together a 45 minute short, just for the Hell of it. The ultimate goal would be to realease a few DVDs around the country via friends that I've have around the country. I'd also like people to be able to download it off of an official website. The name of the game is recognition and some sort of underground DVD distribution.
: As it's written now, there's a scene where the three main characters are sitting around discussing movies. Specifically the Julie Dwayer (sp?)connection in the Jersey trilogy. The character's mention Kevin, Mallrats, and Clerks all by name. Is this a copyright violation of somekind? If so, who do I have to contact to get permission to use the names? Is there a View Askew legal department I can contact?
as long as you're referring to the characters in an original dialogue it isn't infringement. For instance, in Clerks Randall and Dante talk about Star Wars and the Death Star. They reference specific items from the movie but have an original dialogue about it.
As long as something is considered mainstream or "pop culture" knowledge you shouldn't have a problem with it if used in small quantities. Usually.
There are some cases like Gilligan's Island, for instance, where CBS still will sue anyone using the character names or discussing the situations in other forms of media.