ok so i have just written a book, however before i publish it i wanted to know if it’s ok to use names of fashion designers and songs and artists…
heres some examples
“Each wardrobe is full of a certain time period, or designer, maybe you would care to wear a Versace, Channel, or alexander. I believe we may even have some Mothers of London, however I do not feel the lord master would care for that style”
“I’m just a girl, no doubt. Ummm…do it like a dude, Jessie J. That new song by that kid who won Aussie X factor Good night, Oooo and some gaga…just dance, and maybe inside out by eve 6, do you know all them?”
so would that be ok and legal for me to do or would i have to get permission…
Ignoring the response above, unless you’re actually using real life people or copyrighted characters as actual characters in your work, and assigning them fictional actions, you’ll be absolutely fine. Referring to brand names (which is essentially what a fashion designer or pop act is) is fine in fiction as long as you’re not being derogatory towards that brand.
Editted to add: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the snippets you’ve quoted, as far as using the real names is concerned. You’re not slighting anyone. The only concern with using pop acts is that it will date your work more quickly.
You can use whatever real names and trademarks you like in fiction. If you want to say “She wore a Versacci dress as she drover her Lexis to the Food Lion for Cheetos and Pantene, before going to see a Julia Roberts movie,” you’re 100% fine.
If you do use a trademark, you need to use is correctly, but there is no actual penalty for using it incorrectly (other then getting a letter from the company’s lawyers). Kimberly-Clark is going to sue you for infringement if you say “she grabbed a kleenex” because – what if they lost? Better not to risk it for something like this. They will send the letter solely to show they are defending the trademark; that’s all they need to do.
For people, unless you’re actually making them a character in the book, you’re 100% in the clear. You can even make them a character and be pretty sure that they won’t bother you about it – they would have a very hard time winning any court case.
Yes, you can use real names of people and brand names in fiction, so long as you are not committing defamation.
No, you most certainly do not “need to use it correctly.” There’s no such thing. All you need to do is not infringe.
I don’t understand what is being said here. It’s not coherent. Bottom line: Trademarks are used in books and news publications all the time in ways that might be “incorrect” in the view of the trademark owner. It’s irrelevant. Whether you get a letter or not, it is absolutely established under the law that “incorrect” use is not infringement.
You can say “wiped his nose with a kleenex,” “xeroxed pages from the book,” “googled to see where the nearest dry cleaner was” – absolutely, 100 percent legal. If you get a publisher, the publisher’s counsel might want to change these kinds of references, but that’s not something you need to worry about when you’re composing a work.
ok thank you all for replying, so happy i won’t have to change it all, and the book is set in 2012, so it’s all gravy
so awesome to have this clarified i didn’t want to step on toes and shit
Thanks again
