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| Research Research for your story or poem. Ask about history, technology, language etc. |
03-23-2008, 03:48 AM
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#16
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Out in the bush, Queensland, Australia, far from the madding crowd
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,296
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I didn't know Heinz was made from weevil's brains. I learn something new every day. Would that be all 57 varieties?
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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb
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03-23-2008, 03:55 AM
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#17
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Wordsmith
Join Date: May 2007
Location: On islands
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,662
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Quote:
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Make a defamatory statement about a product that is patently untrue and you're in trouble, but brand names generally.
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Yeah, but that's not defamation. It's a character's thougths or speech. BIG difference between novels and articles.
But the way I think it is scurrilous and patently false to claim Heinz uses weevil brains.
Should read "weasel brains" |
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03-23-2008, 04:27 AM
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#18
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Adept Writer
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: America
Gender: Female
Posts: 936
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I couldn't call my main character 'Jack Ryan.' Other than that, I think you're okay.
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This is off topic, but who is Jack Ryan?? |
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03-23-2008, 06:14 AM
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#19
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Crossmaglen, Ireland.
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,695
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Tom Clancy's main character.
Ox - I haven't said anything that isn't true. Go ahead and use quotes and lyrics of songs in your novel without permission and see what happens.
Sam.
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03-23-2008, 06:18 AM
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#20
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Out in the bush, Queensland, Australia, far from the madding crowd
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,296
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Sam, I was talking about hot dogs and lemonade
__________________
How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb
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03-23-2008, 06:22 AM
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#21
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Crossmaglen, Ireland.
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,695
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Okay, Ox, my bad. I see what you mean now. In my defense, I couldn't think of anything else to use as an example at the time.
Sam.
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03-23-2008, 07:20 AM
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#22
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: South-east UK
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,440
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lin
Should read "weasel brains"
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Yea. Typo. |
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03-23-2008, 08:07 AM
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#23
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Manager
Manager
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Great White North
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,870
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Aside from the brand name thing which has been covered, you can use quotes from real people without their permission, as well as character names such as Jack Ryan. Quotes are generally well documented (if you're uncertain about a quote, source it), and names can't be copyrighted. At best, they can be trademarked.
Last edited by valeca : 03-23-2008 at 08:41 AM.
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03-23-2008, 09:35 AM
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#24
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Crossmaglen, Ireland.
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,695
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Valeca, on every one of Tom Clancy's novels, it says 'Copyright © Jack Ryan Enterprises Ltd.' Therefore, I think it would be a safe bet assume that you cannot use the name Jack Ryan.
Sam.
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03-23-2008, 12:15 PM
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#25
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Wordsmith
Join Date: May 2007
Location: On islands
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,662
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Like she said.
And two brands you should stay away from are 7-11, who react violently to any depiction (Why you never see a 7-11 store in a movie) and Disney, who protect their squeaky clean branding like a Pit Bull guards a bone.
But by and large there is VERY little you need to worry about here. It's funny because I was just reading a post on a sci-fi forum from some ditz who was all offended because of William Gibson's constant use of brand names in his work.
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03-23-2008, 01:55 PM
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#26
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Manager
Manager
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Great White North
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,870
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A company name is different than a character name. What that means is that company holds the copyright to the material. Using Jack Ryan Enterprises Ltd. as a company in your writing may land you in some legal hot water due to trademarking, but using the name Jack Ryan for a character will not.
While Jack Ryan is a character in Tom Clancy's novels, it's also the name of a ball player, a real estate agent, Jeri Lynn Ryan's ex-husband ( a US Republican), and Zsa Zsa Gabor's deceased husband, as well as the name of a host of others. It can not be copyrighted.
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03-23-2008, 01:59 PM
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#27
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Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Great White North
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,629
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Off Topic:
Showing my age here, but wasn't 7-11 the store Bill and Ted stood in front of in 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure'? Which, btw, may explain things.
Edit: Showing my age again, my memory is failing-it was a Circle-K store.
Last edited by Selorian : 03-23-2008 at 02:11 PM.
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03-23-2008, 02:13 PM
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#28
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Scribe
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Brighton, UK.
Gender: Female
Posts: 76
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Does anyone know how this works for song titles/lyrics?
I don't know if anyone's read Morvern Callar by Alan Warner, or High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, but those books are packed with musical references. I can't imagine that the writers or their publishers would have run around getting permission from all the songwriters/bands involved, so does that mean it's always ok to use snippets of songs or song titles? When might it not be?
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03-23-2008, 02:59 PM
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#29
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Crossmaglen, Ireland.
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,695
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Quote:
Originally Posted by valeca
A company name is different than a character name. What that means is that company holds the copyright to the material. Using Jack Ryan Enterprises Ltd. as a company in your writing may land you in some legal hot water due to trademarking, but using the name Jack Ryan for a character will not.
While Jack Ryan is a character in Tom Clancy's novels, it's also the name of a ball player, a real estate agent, Jeri Lynn Ryan's ex-husband ( a US Republican), and Zsa Zsa Gabor's deceased husband, as well as the name of a host of others. It can not be copyrighted.
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Thanks for clearing that up, Valeca. I was beginning to wonder. Just for the record, are there any unbreakable rules to consider when dealing with this kind of thing? You've said that using lyrics and quotes is okay. What, then, isn't? Is there one certain thing that you mustn't do? Thank you.
Sam.
__________________
THE ODDVILLE PRESS
Do you think you have what it takes to be published in our e-zine? If so, click on the link above.
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03-23-2008, 03:00 PM
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#30
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Scribe
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Gender: Female
Posts: 75
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I think that if you're going to use a specific place, what you write (ie, discriptions, locations, etc.) need to be in existence where you say they are. I crossed a similar line years ago and ended up renaming my location with a made up name because it was based off a city - I think it would be confusing and misleading to the reader to do otherwise.
Good luck,
dhyre
P.S. sounds like some story you're writin'
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