In the most recent issue of “Giant” magazine, there is a mention that the movie could not be legally titled “Meet the Fockers” unless a REAL family of Fockers was found. (They found a family with that name in Vancouver).
Sorry, I don’t have the magazine here to quote it exactly, but that is the gist of the blurb.
**McDeath_the_Mad ** and I were wondering, WHY would this matter?
Thanks,
S.
I don’t know if “legally” it couldn’t be titled it, but clearly there is some consternation amongst probably the ratings board as well as outlets that would carry the advertising of the word Focker as a obvious play on the F-word.
Sounds like some strange Canadian rule to me. I know Canada has a lot of specific rules on offensive speech/hate speech from a few radio broadcasts I have listened to about problems people have had with the censorship boards there. Could it be that since the name implies a nearly dirty word, that if a real family by that name existed it could be proven that “Focker” wasn’t being used with purient intent?
Again, I am not a Canadian, so this is a WAG.
Just a bit tangential but what is the correct pronunciation of the Dutch name Fokker?
I had read an article (complete with quotes from a Focker family) which indicated that the studio took the precaution of finding a real Focker family in order to blunt any possible complaints from the MPAA or FCC regarding the name. I doubt it was a “legal” requirement, but was merely prudent in the PJJBF (Post-Janet-Jackson-Boob-Flash) world.
As I understand it, for every character in every movie that’s made today, a real person with that name is tracked down and paid $1 for the rights to their name.
For example, if a character in my movie is named Derek Patterson, someone in Legal will open up the L.A. phone book and find a guy named Derek Patterson. A phone call is made, a contract is signed, yada yada yada. Then when the movie comes out and Derek Patterson from Ypsilanti decides to sue, Legal can say “Hey, we found Derek Patterson and paid him for the rights to your name.”
So, my guess would be that the producers found some Fokkers so some other Fokkers wouldn’t try to Fokk with the producers and try to sue.
BurnMeUp … nah, I don’t think it’s a “Canadian” thing …
But thanks all - your answers make sense to me! 
“Ja, but dis Fokker, he vas flyink a Meshersmitts…”
Maybe it was a matter of avoiding any possible libel suit. Having created a fictional Fokker family, they had to make sure that there was no way that anyone could possibly mistake them for the real Fokker family. Or maybe they wanted written permission from the Fokkers to avoid any problems later.
Given the critical eye that the entertainment industry is under in this “PJJBF world” we’re presently living in, I think this is a valid precaution to eschew scrutiny. But had they not been so precausious, I think they would still be able to legally title the movie as such given the precedent that the Fockers are characters in the movie Meet the Parents. (Okay, technically Gaylord Focker is the only Focker that shows up in that movie, but his mere existence presumes the existence of his parents, who would assumedly be called the Fockers.) And since the first movie is about relations with the in-laws, having a movie about relations with the other in-laws only makes sense.
Of course, they could have always called the second movie Meet the Other Parents.
Eep, you mangled that one. It wants a Bronx accent. 
Or a Cockney.
And from what source did you glean this understanding, an understanding so reliable you felt comfortable offering it in answer to a GQ inquiry?
Well, when my dad first told me the joke, he used a Dutch character, with a corresponding accent. Sue me.
IOW: Cite?
$1 for every person with a name mentioned in a movie?
C’mon?
How would that work?
I just checked the first thing I saw on the IMDB. It was an announcement for “Ocean’s Twelve”. Andy Garcia’s character is named “Terry Benedict”. I popped that name in to a phone number database. There were three in the state of California. Of course that doesn’t count all the Terrence Benedicts or Teresa Benedicts who have a claim.
What if the name is spelled slightly differently? Do they just write it funny in the credits?
What if my name is something like “Guy on Street” or “Person in car”?
Well, to be fair, that’s not what he said. He said a person with that name is found and paid. Still, it seems unlikely.
That would be ‘Focker’. Yep.
Fokker is a perfecty normal name here. It means ‘Breeder’
And the Dutch didn’t fly Messerschmidts. The Germans did. We didn’t even have a decent bike during WWII.
Would they really have to find someone called Bilbo Baggins, or Albus Dumbledore?
Under U.S. Copyright law, you are not entitled to copyright protection for your own name. So a movie or a TV show can use your name all it wants.
However, there are different laws if a fictional character is named say “Bill Gates” and he is portrayed as an evil computer genius who lives in Washington. Then there might be some lawsuits.
But the law regarding personal names is US Copyright law, your IPLMV