> Well then, according to Eric Rabkin, it would be very unwise for me to > distribute the script sans permission... I question the person I got the > script from myself then... Ah well... > So how would one go about getting permission to use a script anyway? Say, > if one were to produce it as a play or whatnot... ;) I'm still going to > continue converting the script myself, so I can easily dissect it and > repiece it for my own study... So, despite the illegality of it, I'm going > to continue my work, as I know that nothing >I< do with it will cause a > major loss for Quentin Tarantino. As far as I know, Josh, what you're proposing for yourself is fine. Consider this: if I send you a paper letter that I have written, the law says that you own the letter but I own the words on it. This means that you can sell the letter (as people do with letters from famous folk), give it away, burn it, but what you can't do is _copy_ it; that's what _copy_right is all about. So if you have a copy of something that was given to you, it may well be that it was a legitimate gift, just as I can give you a copyrighted book that I bought. And, under the fair use doctrine, you can play around with the contents of that book all you like...just so long as you don't include in that playing around something equivalent to copying. My guess is that making an e-text of your own for analysis by you would be considered fair use; making that e-text available to others would not, even in an educational setting. After all, authors live on the royalties paid for copies of their work. So, how do you get permission? Usually copyrights are held by authors or by those who copy the author's work. In the case of books, those copiers are usually publishers. In the case of films, those copiers are usually producers. I'd write to Tarantino and to the film's producers asking for permission, explaining what you want to do and why, and pleading poverty. For reprinting in scholarly books, for example, copyright holders often charge $0.00 because they know that such publication will not infringe on their market and will generate interest in their product. Good luck! Eric Eric Rabkin [log in to unmask] Department of English [log in to unmask] University of Michigan office : 313-764-2553 Ann Arbor MI 48109-1045 dept : 313-764-6330 deptl fax : 313-763-3128 voice msgs: 313-763-3130