If I was to write a story/play that included someones twitter name and some of their tweets could they sue me/beat me up? I don't mean stealing jokes, more like tweets that sum up their personality in a handy 140 characters

It really depends what point you're making with the tweets in the play. If you're using someone's tweets to portray them as a bit of a schmuck or whatever then you could leave yourself open to a lawsuit (if they were that way inclined), as it could be seen as defamation/libel.

If on the other hand you're just quoting them to reiterate a point they made then I think it's fine - it's just a quote afterall, as long as it's properly attributed (i.e. you use their actual twitter name) etc.

But copyright and twitter is a bit of a sticky area in general, so I'd check what's being said abou this elsewhere online first.

The other option of course is just to change the name and the content of the tweet (although keeping the sentiment) so the the tweeter can't tell it's them...

Thanks Bleurgh. I'll do a bit of research. If unsure I'll just change name.

Quote: blahblah @ March 29 2013, 8:29 AM GMT

If I was to write a story/play that included someones twitter name and some of their tweets could they sue me/beat me up? I don't mean stealing jokes, more like tweets that sum up their personality in a handy 140 characters

View original

If you are summing up a real person and their personality then I suppose it would be better to change the name so it saves any unwanted legal jangle .