I have written a screenplay and would like to film a movie adaptation of Washington Irvings The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I am aware that this work of fiction is in the public domain, which would allow me to freely use it for the subject material of my film.
However, I recently read somewhere that characters of some public domain works have been trademarked. Can anyone help me...is it legal for me to film a movie adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?
My understand is that you can use anything you create yourself of the story, but not someone else's work. Meaning, you're allowed to show your own version of the Headless Horseman and your own version of Ichabod Crane. But you're not allowed to show any images or cite any literature from, say, Walt Disney's version or Tim Burton's version..... or if either of those version added new scenes not in the book, you can't write out a scene duplicating what happened there. The fact that Washington Irving's book is in the public domain means you're allowed to create your own version, but not allowed to use anything from anybody else's copyrighted version of the story.
I'm about 90% sure of this, not 100% sure. I'd still recommend you check and get it 100% confirmed before shooting. Good luck.
