Writers of nonfiction and fiction often write about real people, or create characters inspired by real people. Public figures can do little to control the way their stories are told. Unauthorized biographies abound as do fictional works in which the famous and infamous appear. Celebrities are frequently unsuccessful litigants.

But what about the undiscovered masses? Are their rights, paradoxically, superior to those of the renowned? Is an author of family lore who “spills the beans” liable to claims of invasion of privacy? Will your publisher insist on being indemnified against such claims? Are there prudent measures to insulate the author when a subject takes umbrage? Join attorney Mitch Tuchman as he shares war stories to help writers avoid legal pitfalls.

Mitch Tuchman, an intellectual property attorney at Morningstar Law Group in Durham, advises authors of fiction and nonfiction with respect to liability and other publishing concerns.  Prior to the practice of law, Tuchman was head of publications at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for fourteen years and wrote or ghost wrote nearly a dozen books.  He is the author of hundreds of articles on law and the arts.