Using real names (hotels, restaurants)

Ms.Write · Jan 30, 2008

I'm writing a novel that takes place in a Florida beach town on the Gulf of Mexico. I've been going there for a number of years and have done setting research. Is it OK for me to mention the real names of restaurants or hotels in passing?

Also, I have the hero staying at a motel I stayed at. Is it OK for me to use the real name as long as my descriptions are complimentary?

Thanks!

citymouse · Jan 30, 2008

Sure.

I like to use names of places that were once open for business but are now defunct. In my stories I use a restaurant, The Adelphia Tavern, where I spent many happy hours way back in the 60s. I still remember its elegance. Alas it is long gone.
C

Ms.Write · Jan 30, 2008

Unfortunately the places I want to mention are still around.

I wonder if there are any legal issues with using real names of hotels or restaurants??

ACEnders · Jan 30, 2008

I think there's another thread out there somewhere about this, but it boils down to - it's fine to do so.

I think.

Don't quote me on it.

But I'm using real names of things, and some made up things as well.

Oberon · Jan 30, 2008

I use real names in many cases, I don't think there's an issue. My current WIP is based in Jackson Hole, my home town. It would seem weird to readers who have ever been there if I changed the name of a very well known lodge where some of the action takes place. It is possible, I suppose, if in a best seller, the author made disparaging comments about a place, the owners might object. I don't know what they could do about it. A suit would take months and cost money and there would be citations of the First Amendment and all that. Not a likely scenario.

IceCreamEmpress · Jan 30, 2008

It's fine to use the names of real businesses as long as you don't impute any embarrassing/illegal/potentially-customer-alienating activities to that business.

"He admired the gorgeous landscaping of Caesar's Palace" is fine.

"He went to the secret brothel that everyone knew was in the basement of Caesar's Palace" is likely to upset your publishers' attorneys to no end.

Scrawler · Jan 30, 2008

I'll note real places in either a neutral or complimentary way. My characters go everywhere from the Olive Garden to PF Changs to El Torito but I make no comment on the service, food, staff, etc. Any restaurant where I need them to suffer horrible service or food poisoning as part of the plot is a made-up name.

David I · Jan 30, 2008

In the US, it's not usually a problem, unless you're saying something really outrageous; it's another story in the UK.

But in any case, don't waste time thinking about it until you have a publisher.

Red-Green · Jan 30, 2008

Generally, as long as you don't say anything unflattering about a real place, no one is going to mind a little free publicity. Plus, real places make your "atmosphere" more realistic to folks who know the place. In my novel that takes place Tampa, I use a lot of real locations, named and unnamed but readily identifiable. That way, people who know Tampa will recognize the city they know.

JJ Cooper · Feb 1, 2008

As long as it's sold in the 'fiction' section of the book store, you can do whatever you want IMO. Have a look at what Dan Brown did.

JJ

Using real names (hotels, restaurants)

Ms.Write

citymouse

fantasy dweller

Ms.Write

ACEnders

Self-Banned

Oberon

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

Scrawler

Bored fanatic

David I

Red-Green

KoalaKoalaKoala!

JJ Cooper

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