Thread: Question regarding legality of writing about celebrities

Hi, I was wondering if I write a book about high profile people would there be any type of problems regarding using there names and information in the book?

like if when I release the book would a bunch of lawyers start suing me?

This, or something similar, is a not infrequently asked question, You might like to check some of these threads out:-

http://www.writingforums.com/writing...n-fiction.html


http://www.writingforums.com/writing...-question.html

http://www.writingforums.com/writing...ion-legal.html

http://www.writingforums.com/researc...lowed-say.html

Basically they can't touch you if you tell the truth, newspapers do that all the time, if you are writing fiction it is a little more problematical, "Does it constitute a slander?" is really what you have to ask yourself.

I'm not familiar with international law but I can tell you that Olly is mostly correct when it comes to the US. (On that note: It's nice to have you here at WF. Drop by the introduce yourself section and tell us a little about yourself. )

There are some exceptions. The related law in the US is called the Lanham Act. This is the US' trademark statute. When it comes to your book's title, using a celebrity name is acceptable in most instances. You might have a problem if 1) the title has no artistic relevance to the work or 2) the title explicitly misleads as to the content of the work. A lawsuit that could prove one of those claims might be successful.

There is also a number of state laws known as "right of publicity" laws. These protect, among other things, a celebrity with economic value in their name from being referenced without purpose. As long as the title relates to the work, you are usually fine here.

Within the content of your work, I think slander is the only thing you have to worry about. That said, if you are going to be submitting your book to a publisher, they will have knowledge of the legalities and will help you edit your novel to fit within them. If you are planning on self publishing, It wouldn't be a bad idea to down with a attorney that specializes in trademark/copyright before publishing, only because have a book that you know might be an issue.

Celebrities and politicians are legally known as pubic persons and as such have fewer privacy rights than ordinary people. If you based a character on your next door neighbor, he might be able to sue you where a celebrity or politician could not. Under American personal injury law, a person can only sue another if that person has personally injured them. Harming a person's reputation so that they can no longer earn as much income as they could otherwise is an injury. So is emotional pain and suffering. There is no black and white when it comes to legal risk, only a spectrum of risk. You are safest if you only use the names of people who are dead (dead people can't be injured), if you only write truthfully about them, and if you only write nice things about them. As you deviate from these principles, you take on greater amounts of risk. C.M.

When writing a fiction novel, how does the legalities apply when referencing a celebrity? Such as when describing a personality as reminding you of a celebrity. Or a dance like Elvis... etc.

Is there any repercussions from this type of statement?

Even if Elvis was still alive, he could not sue you for describing a character as dancing like Elvis. To say so does not injure Elvis, and Elvis was a celebrity, so he has almost no privacy rights. C.M.

I truly appreciate or reply. Thank you! Sincerely!