Can book authors publish private, personal stories

[Whpanic78]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

Can book authors publish private, personal stories about a person, without that person's permission? The book is labeled as an autobiography and not fiction. Even though the names are changed, it's evident to friends and neighbors familiar with the situation who the book is about. Is there any legal recourse against the author and or publishing company for the person being written about? Book is scheduled to be published by Simon and Schuster this summer.

 

[army judge]

Can book authors publish private, personal stories about a person, without that person's permission?

Because one CAN, doesn't imply one SHOULD.

Legal Challenges Of Writing Unauthorized Biographies - Sidebar Saturdays

Legal Challenges Of Writing Unauthorized Biographies - Sidebar Saturdays

Privacy Protection and Copyright: The Legal Side of Writing a Biography - The Writers For Hire

The Difference Between Authorized and Unauthorized Biographies

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/authorized-vs-unauthorized-biographies

Can I write a biography of some famous living figure without permission? - Quora
......

 

[flyingron]

In general, no. Biographical information is not protected. If the person obtained this information by unlawful means (wiretapping or some sort of trespass) or it's copying of something protected like letters or diary entries, there's nothing that precludes them from writing about it and getting it published.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Can book authors publish private, personal stories about a person, without that person's permission? The book is labeled as an autobiography and not fiction. Even though the names are changed, it's evident to friends and neighbors familiar with the situation who the book is about. Is there any legal recourse against the author and or publishing company for the person being written about? Book is scheduled to be published by Simon and Schuster this summer.

Nothing prevents you from writing books about the lives of other people, and you may use their real names, too. However, for any of those persons still living run the risk of being sued for defamation if you get your facts wrong and damage the person's reputation as a result. Furthermore, how you get the information you put in your book matters. For example, if you publish a copy of a letter you read about this person you may be violating the copyright of the author or whomever currently holds the copyright. If you obtained information by illegally recording conversations, that can result in criminal wiretap charges and lawsuits, too. Other ways of obtaining information may violate the person's right to privacy. Your publisher should arrange for a legal review of the book before publication. If it doesn't, then you ought to have an attorney who deals with publication issues review the book and advise you of where any trouble spots may be.

 

[doucar]

Nothing prevents you from writing books about the lives of other people, and you may use their real names, too. However, for any of those persons still living run the risk of being sued for defamation if you get your facts wrong and damage the person's reputation as a result. Furthermore, how you get the information you put in your book matters. For example, if you publish a copy of a letter you read about this person you may be violating the copyright of the author or whomever currently holds the copyright. If you obtained information by illegally recording conversations, that can result in criminal wiretap charges and lawsuits, too. Other ways of obtaining information may violate the person's right to privacy. Your publisher should arrange for a legal review of the book before publication. If it doesn't, then you ought to have an attorney who deals with publication issues review the book and advise you of where any trouble spots may be.

 

[doucar]

"The book is labeled as an autobiography"

That at least implies that it is written by the subject of the book and could be actionable. I think you may have meant biography not autobiography.

 

[zddoodah]

Can book authors publish private, personal stories about a person, without that person's permission?

It's obviously possible (hundreds, if not thousands, of such stories are published every year), so I assume what you really intended to ask was whether doing so would violate anyone's rights. If so, the answer depends primarily on how the author acquired the information and the relationship between the author and the subject of the story.

Is there any legal recourse against the author and or publishing company for the person being written about? Book is scheduled to be published by Simon and Schuster this summer.

The publisher's lawyers will thoroughly vet the book for such issues and will let the author know.

 

[flyingron]

The publisher's lawyers will thoroughly vet the book for such issues and will let the author know.

In deed, Simon and Schuster will almost certainly do it. Of course, tons of books get published by POD and Vanity Presses that do no editorial at all.

"The book is labeled as an autobiography"

If the author is not the subject (or at least a ghostwriter for) this is indeed a problem. If I write a book called "The Autobiography of George Santos" and I'm not, it's a problem. I can't imagine S&S publishing such

 

[justblue]

In deed, Simon and Schuster will almost certainly do it. Of course, tons of books get published by POD and Vanity Presses that do no editorial at all.


If the author is not the subject (or at least a ghostwriter for) this is indeed a problem. If I write a book called "The Autobiography of George Santos" and I'm not, it's a problem. I can't imagine S&S publishing such

lol...You have to admit it would be rather ironic and amusing to lie about being an "alleged" pathological liar.

 

[Whpanic78]

"The book is labeled as an autobiography"

That at least implies that it is written by the subject of the book and could be actionable. I think you may have meant biography not autobiography.

It's actually a memoir about the author's wife's affair with another man and that other man does not want this information out in the public domain. Would he have to give his permission for stories of his private life to be published?

 

[Whpanic78]

Nothing prevents you from writing books about the lives of other people, and you may use their real names, too. However, for any of those persons still living run the risk of being sued for defamation if you get your facts wrong and damage the person's reputation as a result. Furthermore, how you get the information you put in your book matters. For example, if you publish a copy of a letter you read about this person you may be violating the copyright of the author or whomever currently holds the copyright. If you obtained information by illegally recording conversations, that can result in criminal wiretap charges and lawsuits, too. Other ways of obtaining information may violate the person's right to privacy. Your publisher should arrange for a legal review of the book before publication. If it doesn't, then you ought to have an attorney who deals with publication issues review the book and advise you of where any trouble spots may be.

It's actually a memoir about the author's wife's affair with another man and that other man does not want this information out in the public domain. Would he have to give his permission for stories of his private life to be published?

 

[Tax Counsel]

It's actually a memoir about the author's wife's affair with another man and that other man does not want this information out in the public domain. Would he have to give his permission for stories of his private life to be published?

That will depend on exactly what details of his life you publish and how you got the information.

 

[Whpanic78]

That will depend on exactly what details of his life you publish and how you got the information.

One last question…say all of the facts are correct, so no defamation issue, but the other man wants to sue for a portion of the book profits since it's about his life. Is there any precedent for awarding compensation to a subject of a book? Hope that makes sense?

 

[flyingron]

If he's telling his story about how his wife ran off with another woman, it's not entirely improper to refer to it as autobiographical.

 

[Tax Counsel]

One last question…say all of the facts are correct, so no defamation issue, but the other man wants to sue for a portion of the book profits since it's about his life. Is there any precedent for awarding compensation to a subject of a book? Hope that makes sense?

He cannot successfully sue for a portion of profits simply because he's one of the characters of the book. But defamation is not the only worry. A number of states have laws that protect against publication of private, intimate information. For example, see this discussion of Publication of Private Facts in Georgia.

 

[zddoodah]

It's actually a memoir about the author's wife's affair with another man and that other man does not want this information out in the public domain. Would he have to give his permission for stories of his private life to be published?

Depends. As I noted, the publisher's attorneys will thoroughly vet the book and advise the author what is needed in terms of clearance. That said, you might find some of these search results to be instructive (in particular, the discussion of intrusion upon seclusion and public disclosure of private facts).

say all of the facts are correct, so no defamation issue, but the other man wants to sue for a portion of the book profits since it's about his life. Is there any precedent for awarding compensation to a subject of a book?

No. One does not own any rights in facts (including facts about one's own life). If the law were otherwise, there would be VERY few biographies (other than autobiographies) published about living persons.