Oh man, you found the perfect song for your novel. Only thing is, it’s not your song. What’s an author to do?
What Can You Safely Use:
Song Titles
Book Titles
TV Show Titles
Titles typically cannot be copyrighted.
What Can You Not Use Without Checking Copyright First:
Song lyrics
Quotations from people (famous or not), books, poems, songs, scripts of any kind.
Maps
Images… including photos and screenshots
Translations (the work might be ancient, but the translation could still be under copyright!)
Where Do You Guys Get Your Images?
- We use Pexels.
- We take our own photos
- We buy from Adobe Stock, which gives us a license to use them.
Where Do You Guys Get All Your Snappy Patter?
Ha! We write it ourselves.
How About If You Need Some Song Lyrics?
For song lyrics I highly recommend adding a child, a cat, or a dog to your life. You will find yourself writing songs you never knew you could write as you sing your heart out waxing poetic about one, or all, of your darlings.
Be careful out there. Copyright violations are no joke, and AI makes it even easier for copyright holders to find folks who violate copyright. You are welcome to download our free guide for an overview of copyright permissions, but, remember, if unsure, always assume you cannot use something, and contact a lawyer to be certain.