Facts cannot be copyrighted judge tells documentary makers

An articles published at Techdirt highlights some of the unsual practices in the movie industry where movie studios license work based on true stories. this is not neccessary as you cannot copyright factual information.

" Anyone can make a movie based on a true story without purchasing any kinds of rights. Now, there may be some business reasons for doing so. Licensing the story from either those who were involved or who initially reported on it may allow you to have those people more involved in making the movie itself (though, that could just be handled by hiring them to advise, rather than "licensing" the story). Still, it did seem odd that it was so common for true stories to be "sold" this way. "