irg7620

ok, i hope this is the correct thread for this question. i want to know the issues using the real names of people, places and things. say for instance, my story takes place here in Wabash, IN (it's a real town), could i use the town name in my story or do i have to re-name it even if i use descriptions of the town that are exactly the same? the same goes for people. can i use the real name of a real person? does this depend on whether i am writing a non-fiction or a fiction novel? this has bugged ever since i decided to give writing a shot. let me know.

the stuff would be like gun names, makes and models of vehicles, video game titles, stuff like that.

Sam Winchester

Of course you can! The only thing you can't use without permission is lyrics of songs, real people such as George Bush, and names of other peoples characters, i.e. I couldn't call my main character 'Jack Ryan.' Other than that, I think you're okay.

Sam.

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irg7620

hey!! thanks for the advice. that really does help. i've been needing that information for a long time.

Florianstamp

What about brands like this sentence
'I was at the supermarket weighing up the positives of the baked beans in each of my hands. In the end i went with heinz over branston because everyone knows they are a superior bean'

Sam Winchester

Firstly, you're stating a belief there: 'everyone knows they are a superior bean.' Everyone doesn't know this. Some people might just as easily prefer the other type. What you've just done is made a biased statement. It's your belief that Heinz (by the way, a brand name is capitalised) is the superior bean. Allow me to digress for a minute: It has actually been proven that Heinz is no different to any other types of beans. Scientific research involving people being blindfolded has discovered that those people couldn't tell the difference between the brands. Anyway, you would have no problem writing the names, but to make a statement like that I would do it in speech as opposed to prose. Why? Because then it's the character's belief and not yours, and you therefore avoid any problems.

Sam.

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Florianstamp

It was just an example.

Sam Winchester

Sorry, the part of your post which read 'what about brands like this sentence?' made me think that you were asking a question which you wanted answered. My mistake.

Sam.

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Florianstamp

Yeah, it was a question which I wanted an answer for. But it was mainly that style of sentence. I was not only asking about beans. Just saying that a certain brand name is better than another.

irg7620

well, i was wondering about brand names, too. i didn't know if we could use actual brand names or could use the brand name but just not a certain product offered by them.

Sam Winchester

How many novels have you read where someone eats a hot-dog or drinks lemonade? These are all brand names. 'We' can use them. The only thing you can't use is lyrics of songs, quotes from real people, real people who exist, or other another author's character name. The first two can be used if you get permission from the person who wrote the lyrics or quotes. The third one is the same if you get permission from the actual person. The fourth one, I think, is non-negotiable. Other than that, you should be okay.

Sam.

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lin

Hot dogs and lemonade are NOT brand names, sorry.

Also, there is no reason not to have George Bush as a character.

You can use quotes from real people, it's done all the time. Snippets of lyrics are "fair use"..how much is a snippet is up for debate.

The publisher acquires permissions for using copyrighted material.

It's not necessary to have permission of famous people, and certainly not for anything they did that was in the news.

The town name thing is more or less your own comfort level. One thing's sure, you're not going to have problems if the story is set in Chicago of London. If it's set in East Bumfuck, where a lot of the people are a lot like your characters and they all know where to find your car, you might want to create your own town, like Steven King's "Castle Rock" (funny thing is, I've been in four towns called Castle Rock)

Brand names are no problem. The guy drives a Ford and has a Coke or Bud? James Bond has a Boodles martini? These are real things in the real world. Not to worry.

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lin

NO

What he has done is attribute a thought to a character. NOT a problem.

Jeez, is this some sort of Maia legacy here, everybody all freaked out about using names, like you see other writers doing all the time?

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Florianstamp

Thanks, clear.

The Backward OX

Sam, either stop talking through your arse or change your avatar for something that looks goofy.

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

Mike C

Nothing wrong with that, either the use of the brand or the speaker expressing an opinion.

Where you might run into trouble would be 'In the end i went with heinz over branston because everyone knows Heinz gives you cancer and is made from wevils brains.'

Make a defamatory statement about a product that is patently untrue and you're in trouble, but brand names generally... how would any Noir detective fiction ever get written without Jack Daniels? Use them, don't misrepresent them.

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