An editor for The Wild Rose Press requested my full manuscript but included the condition that "all copyrighted/trademarked items must be removed." She goes on to say, "Unfortunately, I think this is going to impact the hotel names as well," which is a problem for me because a pivotal scene takes place in an iconic hotel that can't simply be renamed (doing so would be the equivalent of writing a 9/11 story but changing the name of the World Trade Center to the International Commerce Complex--it would be too obvious and too distracting for the reader).
Am I wrong in thinking that this is an unusual request? I understand that there might be cause for concern if a story disparages a trademarked brand, but, to the best of my understanding, there is nothing in trademark or copyright law that creates civil liability for an author/publisher that names the make and model of car a person drives or the brand of soda or liquor a person drinks or the hotel a person stays in.
Is this just a standard some publishers choose to enforce, or is it as out-of-left-field as it seems to me?
Am I wrong in thinking that this is an unusual request? I understand that there might be cause for concern if a story disparages a trademarked brand, but, to the best of my understanding, there is nothing in trademark or copyright law that creates civil liability for an author/publisher that names the make and model of car a person drives or the brand of soda or liquor a person drinks or the hotel a person stays in.
Is this just a standard some publishers choose to enforce, or is it as out-of-left-field as it seems to me?