Thread: Rules about using Brand names?

Just wondering if anyone knows if there are law about using brand names in my writing. There have been times I've been tempted to use things such as ipod, or Coke, etc, but was unsure if there were laws concerning this.

Here's a link that I thought did a pretty good job of answering this question:

Rights of Writers: Can I Mention Brand Name Products in My Fiction?

Thank you - I'll check it out.

Regardless of the laws concerning the topic, it's completely unnecessary. I can't think of any scenario, immediately, where specific naming of a product would be necessary or integral to the story, plot development, etc.

Coke becomes cola/fizzy drink/carbonated beverage, etc. Ipod becomes media player/MP3 player et al, and a Playstation becomes videogames/games console...

I can think of plenty reasons to use brand names. Dialog for one -- I rarely say, "Pass the facial tissue" -- do you? I write a lot about the South and "Coke" is part of the culture and is often used as a generic for soft drink. Sometimes the brand name is just the natural way to refer to something and there's no reason to go out of your way to use an awkward sounding generic.

Ha. Yeah, around here if you ask for a coke, you get asked, "What kind?"

Still, when I was a very young man, my dad suggested that I avoid using terminology that ties a story to any given time and place *unless* that setting is the point of the story, or at least a big part of it. I think I had named "the president" by name in something I showed him. I have since avoided such specifics in order to capture the more "timeless" feel he mentioned.

Originally Posted by JosephB

I can think of plenty reasons to use brand names. Dialog for one -- I rarely say, "Pass the facial tissue" -- do you? I write a lot about the South and "Coke" is part of the culture and is often used as a generic for soft drink. Sometimes the brand name is just the natural way to refer to something and there's no reason to go out of your way to use an awkward sounding generic.

Maybe it's a North American foible, though I don't believe I've ever heard a fellow Englishman say 'pass me a Kleenex/other brand', to which I imagine you are referring to. It's always, 'can you hand/pass me a tissue?'

There's no reason for a replacement to sound generic. Literature, for the most part, steered clear of brand recognition almost completely until the twentieth century. There's no reason to reference a piece of furniture being from Ikea, an automobile being a Mustang model so-and-so, and a jug being of 'insert name here' porcelain. With adequate, well-utilised description, brand naming becomes superfluous.

The earliest example of brand naming I could think of, and I don't believe I'm mistake here, is in high Victorian novels naming carriages as Broughams, Hansoms, etc. I think the carriage as a whole was synonymous with those two manufacturers though, and besides, those appellations were far from the status quo.

I would be tempted to make the rule the Ian Fleming one. 'If you want your product placement to stay in my book you pay for it.' But I guess you have to be successful first.

The message of course is that no sensible person will object to a plug for their product, dis McDonald's on the other hand and expect the law suits.

Originally Posted by Olly Buckle

The message of course is that no sensible person will object to a plug for their product

Ferrari off the top of my hat. There's been several others.

But as you said, why give free advertising for no benefit. Even worse, you run the risk of it looking like a cheap advertisement, which would negatively impact on your own image.

Originally Posted by philistine

Maybe it's a North American foible, though I don't believe I've ever heard a fellow Englishman say 'pass me a Kleenex/other brand', to which I imagine you are referring to. It's always, 'can you hand/pass me a tissue?'

There's no reason for a replacement to sound generic. Literature, for the most part, steered clear of brand recognition almost completely until the twentieth century. There's no reason to reference a piece of furniture being from Ikea, an automobile being a Mustang model so-and-so, and a jug being of 'insert name here' porcelain. With adequate, well-utilised description, brand naming becomes superfluous.

The earliest example of brand naming I could think of, and I don't believe I'm mistake here, is in high Victorian novels naming carriages as Broughams, Hansoms, etc. I think the carriage as a whole was synonymous with those two manufacturers though, and besides, those appellations were far from the status quo.

Funny you should say that. I wrote a story and one of the characters was a kid obsessed with restoring a vintage Mustang. It would have been silly to avoid referring to the car by name -- especially in dialog.

In another short story I wrote, a guitarist finds himself broke and has to pawn his guitar. In his dialog with the clerk at the pawn shop, it would make perfect sense for them to refer to the guitar as a “Les Paul” or “Gibson.” Why wouldn't they? It not only sounds natural, it adds to the realism of the story.

Foible? I'm not an Englishman, but more importantly, neither are my characters. And I don’t hold to 19^th century conventions when I write. We’re now in the 21^st century and it’s fairly common to use brand names in literature. You probably don't see any in literature prior to the 20th century because prior to mass-production, national and international distribution and advertising, there weren't that many ubiquitous brand names. In the meantime, certain brands have become iconic. Ikea isn’t one of them -- not yet anyway -- so that's not a very good example. Coke is. So is a Ford Mustang or Jack Daniels. Or The Ritz – a brand name Fitzgerald used in the title of a short story. When it comes to these brands, people very often don’t think or speak in terms of “adequate, well-utilised description” -- so it just makes sense to use them.

It really depends on the product, the story and the context. Sometimes it works -- other times, when the brand name isn’t part of everyday language for the reader or character, it’s going stick out like a sore thumb -- so it should be considered on a case-by-case basis. I'm sure it's also possible to work around using them, if you choose to. But as some kind of general rule, telling people to avoid using brand names altogether is bad advice.