Referencing actual products/Companies?

Baryonyx · Apr 12, 2010

Quick question but is this actually legal to do?

I've seen it happen in some forms (Playstation been referenced in Harry Potter for example and actual makes of car been used in many novels) but in other books and also tv shows I've seen the writer/director avoid using actual branded products. (Changing Ipod to MyPod is one I've seen before)

I ask because in my Steampunk WIP Steam Engines play a big part and I was planning to use real, actual trains in the story. Would it be legal for me to do so or would I need to get some sort of permission?

Thanks

DrZoidberg · Apr 12, 2010

Playstation doesn't own the right to deny anybody writing about it in a novel. That's not how it works. If it isn't slanderous in any sense I think you're worrying unnecessarily. You can only be held liable if it can be proven in some legal sense that damage to the company has occurred as a direct result of your book. That's pretty unlikely unless there are some very special circumstances. Are you a disgruntled union member trying to take revenge on the company with this book?

I try to avoid real product names and company names if possible. It gives me the freedom to change them as it fits the story. That might explain MyPod? It also saves it from feeling dated at the time of release. It usually takes a few years. iPod isn't likely to be around in ten years time, is it?

shaldna · Apr 12, 2010

You can use the real names so long as you don't say things about them that could be considered to be derogatory.

RJK · Apr 12, 2010

If you're doing Steampunk, you're in an alternate universe, why not modify the names of the trains?

Jamesaritchie · Apr 12, 2010

It's unfounded accusations you can't make. Anyone seen the documentary Super Size Me. It doesn't exactly say nice things about McDonald's.

To me, it's always odd reading a novel suposedly set in the real world, but that doesn't occasionally reference places we eat at every day. Or cars we see all the time. Or places we all know exist.

peterhjr · Apr 12, 2010

Stephen King does it all the time. My father once showed me a copy of The Stand and pointed out a sentence which looked something like: "The Kid picked up his Coors, flipped on the Sony Trinitron, slouched back in the Sofamatic [or whatever

] and yelled, 'Where the hell's the Playboy Channel?'"

In this case, the product names were there to describe the kind of person The Kid is. Problem is, it didn't help me much because I had no idea what a 'Coors' was, let alone a Sofamatic. I appreciated that one was a beer and the other was a couch, but that's the only information I had and the scene seemed duller for it.

Unless it's something which is absolutely ubiquitous (like a Playstation) I think you'd save time by describing the product or company yourself, and then slapping your own name on the front. Gives you much more freedom too.

Jamesaritchie · Apr 12, 2010

peterhjr said:
Stephen King does it all the time. My father once showed me a copy of The Stand and pointed out a sentence which looked something like: "The Kid picked up his Coors, flipped on the Sony Trinitron, slouched back in the Sofamatic [or whatever ] and yelled, 'Where the hell's the Playboy Channel?'"

In this case, the product names were there to describe the kind of person The Kid is. Problem is, it didn't help me much because I had no idea what a 'Coors' was, let alone a Sofamatic. I appreciated that one was a beer and the other was a couch, but that's the only information I had and the scene seemed duller for it.

Unless it's something which is absolutely ubiquitous (like a Playstation) I think you'd save time by describing the product or company yourself, and then slapping your own name on the front. Gives you much more freedom too.

I supect 99% of reader will know what a Coors is, and they'll certainly have more information about a Sofamatic than about anything you invent.

The problem with invenjting products and companies is that no reader is going to have a clue what you're talking about.

Freedom is good when you want to set murder and mayhem inside a company or business, but bad when you start making up product names.

peterhjr · Apr 12, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
Freedom is good when you want to set murder and mayhem inside a company or business, but bad when you start making up product names.

I guess, but on the other hand I hate being jerked out of my Sofamatic(tm) by reading the product name of my choice of beer in a book. The real world is full of this product already. Do I really need it to be in my 'alternative' world as well?

Just call it beer. Everyone knows what beer is.

Baryonyx · Apr 12, 2010

Thanks for the replies

Figured I'd best check just to make sure. Not planning on saying anything deregatory about them so I'll be safe

RJK said:
If you're doing Steampunk, you're in an alternate universe, why not modify the names of the trains?

I'm tempter to do that actually but, first of all I suck at coming up with names for Organisations and Companies, secondly using real ones helps me visualise what the engine looks like and role in my story would be suited too.

I guess I could change the names of the trains but have them based off real ones. Might do that actually, cheers

Kryianna · Apr 12, 2010

peterhjr said:
I guess, but on the other hand I hate being jerked out of my Sofamatic(tm) by reading the product name of my choice of beer in a book. The real world is full of this product already. Do I really need it to be in my 'alternative' world as well?

Just call it beer. Everyone knows what beer is.

There's a huge difference between types of beer. Your character may not drink a Coors -- he may prefer Guinness. There's a world of flavor and quality between the two. Specifying will give more details about your character.

Let me give another example. In your method, my character had sirloin from a restaurant yesterday. Well, both Boston Market and Ruth's Chris sell sirloin. Just by naming the restaurant can say that my character looks for the finer things in life, and has a significant food budget (and/or was celebrating something).

Lady Ice · Apr 13, 2010

I have no idea what the difference between a Coors and a Guinness is and unless you actually drink beer, you wouldn't either. Also the names of those American restaurants mean nothing to me (are they chain?).

References have to make sense to the public at large. Even if you don't use Twitter, you know what it is.

References that pretty much everyone knows-

Starbucks, Coke, McDonalds, Jaguar (or the name of any fast posh car), Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Amazon, Google, Wikipedia.

Trying to cover up the fact that something is a Coke is silly.

COOLORANGEFREEZE · Apr 14, 2010

So do products and companies need to be indented in fiction novels:

McDonalds

Coke

or just the names of books, magazines, and newspapers... titles?

Thanks

Lydia Sharp · Apr 14, 2010

COOLORANGEFREEZE said:
So do products and companies need to be indented in fiction novels:

McDonalds

Coke

or just the names of books, magazines, and newspapers... titles?

Thanks

If by "indented" you mean "italicized", the answer is no. But they should be capitalized.
Also, all novels are fiction. Just say novel, not fiction novel.

Lady Ice said:
I have no idea what the difference between a Coors and a Guinness is and unless you actually drink beer, you wouldn't either.

There is something to be said for authenticity. It's not about the author. It's about what is important to that particular character. And just because *you* don't know the difference, doesn't mean half the readers who pick up that book won't.

My husband is a Guinness lover, and he would never call it "a beer". It's a Guinness.

It's an understanding of what is important to the character.

COOLORANGEFREEZE · Apr 14, 2010

Lydia Sharp said:
If by "indented" you mean "italicized", the answer is no. But they should be capitalized.
Also, all novels are fiction. Just say novel, not fiction novel.

There is something to be said for authenticity. It's not about the author. It's about what is important to that particular character. And just because *you* don't know the difference, doesn't mean half the readers who pick up that book won't.

My husband is a Guinness lover, and he would never call it "a beer". It's a Guinness.

It's an understanding of what is important to the character.

HA! I can't believe I wrote "indented". Anyways thanks for the clarification it is appreciated. Sometimes I/we struggle with some of the tiny details. Being a perfectionist, at least in my attempts at writing, can help and hinder too

bonitakale · Apr 14, 2010

Some people have a knack for making up names that sound real. Some people use real names. I've read books that had brand names I actually had to look up ("Shoes! She's wearing expensive shoes!")

If your brand names are very important, you might want to give the reader a clue what they refer to.

And they can backfire. In one book I read, the guy with the big yellow Hummer was actually the good guy. Luckily, that was pretty well established before the car came on the scene.

Lady Ice · Apr 15, 2010

COOLORANGEFREEZE said:
So do products and companies need to be indented in fiction novels:

McDonalds

Coke

or just the names of books, magazines, and newspapers... titles?

Thanks

Only titles. You can say 'He grabbed a Coke' or 'He grabbed a copy of Playboy.'

Most people know what Guinness is, even if they don't drink beer. They have it on tap pretty much everywhere and advertised all over pubs.

Lydia Sharp · Apr 15, 2010

bonitakale said:
Some people have a knack for making up names that sound real. Some people use real names. I've read books that had brand names I actually had to look up ("Shoes! She's wearing expensive shoes!")

That's common in Chick Lit. I've had to look up names of clothing and shoes, too. I think that is smart of the author, though. It shows what is important to the character, and likely, their *main* audience will know what they're referring to as well.

I've read military sci-fi that mentions names of weapons that I had no clue what they were. But I wouldn't expect the author to go into too much explanation of it because the majority of their intended audience already knows what they are referring to just by the name. I know this because all I have to do is ask my husband what a such-and-such type gun is and he can spout the answer off the top of his head.

And they can backfire. In one book I read, the guy with the big yellow Hummer was actually the good guy. Luckily, that was pretty well established before the car came on the scene.

I didn't realize that Hummer = bad guy. One of my women's fic MCs owns a black H3. Then again, it was originally owned by her dead husband who had abused her. Hmmm...

Referencing actual products/Companies?

Baryonyx

DrZoidberg

aka TomOfSweden

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

RJK

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

Jamesaritchie

peterhjr

Super Grandnovice

Jamesaritchie

peterhjr

Super Grandnovice

Baryonyx

Kryianna

Lady Ice

Makes useful distinctions

COOLORANGEFREEZE

New kid, be gentle!

Lydia Sharp

for the love of love