Is it okay to write a fictional story, using a now deceased famous person,changi

1. 83

   Lisawilliamsjposted 6 years ago

   Is it okay to write a fictional story, using a now deceased famous person,changing their history?
   
   This story would include the name and some of the personality and history of the character. It would grow into a story that did not happen, but could have happened if the character focused her anger in a different way.

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2. 53

   peter565posted 6 years ago

   Try people who have died at least 100 years, just be on the safe side

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3. 83

   Lisawilliamsjposted 6 years ago

   Okay. The person I have in mind has been gone for about 55 years. I found online that it was okay, if they were deceased, but it did not give a time-frame. Thank you for your answer!

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4. 51

   bradmasterOCcalposted 6 years ago

   I am probably in the minority, but FICTION is just that. It is not history, it is a make believe story. You could always change the names.
   
   Akin to slander of a dead person.
   
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   Slander is an untrue oral statement made about someone that damages his reputation. Under general legal principles, only a living person can bring a suit for slander because a dead person suffers no harm if his reputation is sullied. In some states, a defamation suit begun by an individual before his death may be continued by his estate.
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   Elements of Defamation
   
   The legal tort of defamation involves a false statement about a person that is negligently or willfully communicated to a third party and results in harm to the person's reputation. It is slander if the statement is oral, libel if it is written. The statement must actually injure the reputation of the person, not just constitute an insult. Truth is an absolute defense to the charge of slander.
   Dead Cannot Be Defamed
   
   "You can't defame the dead" is an often-repeated legal chestnut that restates the general rule that only the living can sue for damages to their reputation. The continued force of this rule explains why many defamatory "tell-all" biographies appear after a famous figure has died. Georgia's law is typical -- it recognizes no cause of action for slander of a dead person, but allows the person's family to continue to prosecute a legal action for slander that the deceased started before he died.

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