Use Republican and Democrat Party

[mr58inc]

I want to write a political novel that revolves around the two major Parties, Republican and Democratic. The characters will be fictional. My question is can I use the major Party names in my novel without being sued, or do I have to use names other tha Rep. or Dem?

[scfirenice]

You can use party names, lots have. Just don't say "Bill Clinton, or W. Bush said..."

[blacbird]

It's perfectly okay also to say "Bill Clinton said X" or "George W. Bush said X", as long as it's true (and for that matter, probably even if it's not; political opponents do that all the time). People like Clinton and Bush are public figures, and their public utterances are public domain. Likewise the names of the political parties.

bird

[kelker11]

So tacking an additional question onto Mr58inc's...what about prisons. I live in Georgia, and I would like to use the name of the main prison in Fulton County in my story. However, the prison guards, prison life, etc, will be portrayed in an extremely bad light for purposes of the story.

So is something like that grounds for a law suit???

Thanks

[LightShadow]

I used SCI Rockview in Pennsylvania for an execution in one of mine. I don't know. Don't use any names that might be true and you might be fine. Besides, prison life sux as it is. How could a fictional portrayal be in bad light of what really goes on?

[scribbler1382]

I'd assume it's fine. I couldn't even count the number of times books and movies have used San Quentin or Riker's Island. On the other hand, if you're going to describe an escape or the like, you might want to create a fictional prison. Donald Westlake (writing as Richard Stark) did just that in "Breakout". King did it too.

[kelker11]

Thanks! Appreciate the opinions!