My fictitious company isn't so fictitious... what do I do?

gtanders · Mar 9, 2020

Hi all,

My WIP features a company called "Merrick Music" which is central to the storyline. (Can't cut this company from the plot, and I'd really rather not change that name--I love the sound of it.)

I never thought to google the name while writing (though I thought to google plenty of other names in the WIP before using them... *sigh*). Turns out there's a music production company with that exact name. They're all over the Google search results.

Do I need to be concerned about this at the querying stage? Is this something that a publisher would be willing to try and cover with the ol', "This is a work of fiction..." thing?

Or should I go about respelling and/or renaming the company now?

Thanks everyone!

lizmonster · Mar 9, 2020

I don't know, but you made me look: the Big Villainous Corporation in my series shares a name with a forklift company.

Of course, my Big Villainous Corporation doesn't sell forklifts, so it's a little different. For publication, this may be an "ask a lawyer" question, but I wouldn't worry about it for the query.

cornflake · Mar 9, 2020

Anything is possible, I suppose, but I can't imagine a publisher not wanting that changed. It's not a generic name and is the same industry.

talktidy · Mar 9, 2020

I think this comes under the heading of murdering one's darlings.

You may love the name, but I doubt you would care for litigious minded types inclined to take the shine off your day. I have no idea how likely this may be, but why risk it.

SwallowFeather · Mar 9, 2020

Look for a name with a similar sound. Good Lord, you could even just change the spelling and keep the sound. Remove the K? Replace the e with an a? It'll be fine.

But yeah, don't worry about it in the query, matters like that are for the last editing stages and nobody (at a publisher, I mean) takes the time to research them before that.

frimble3 · Mar 9, 2020

Replace the 'CK' with a 'C' or a 'G'? Googling first, of course.

Pastelnudes · Mar 10, 2020

Yes, fiction lets you do anything. I am seeing it from a non-American perspective, of course. Check out the novels of Karl Ove Knausgard. He sounds obscure, but he's one of Europe's most acclaimed authors. He has himself as the MC and populates the books with real people. Some of them are not too happy about it.

Also, any publicity is good publicity! Maybe contact them and ask if they'd mind?

CameronJohnston · Mar 10, 2020

If you have a company with the same name and in the same line of business, they that's a lawsuit waiting to happen. I don't think it will affect you at the querying stage unless somebody knows of that company, but why take that chance.

Introversion · Mar 10, 2020

gtanders said:
My WIP features a company called "Merrick Music" which is central to the storyline. (Can't cut this company from the plot, and I'd really rather not change that name--I love the sound of it.)

Is the “Merrick” part of the name significant? (Is a character’s name?)

If not, if it’s just the alliteration you love, that should be easy to fix.

Merritt Music.
Metric Music.
Morel Music. (<- I kinda like that it’s named for a mushroom, and can be pronounced “moral” or “morell”)
Etc.

MythMonger · Mar 10, 2020

gtanders said:
Hi all,

My WIP features a company called "Merrick Music" which is central to the storyline. (Can't cut this company from the plot, and I'd really rather not change that name--I love the sound of it.)

Since it's the sound you like, you could play with the consonants: Merrick Musick or Merric Music (I like the way they end the same). Merick Music. Merik Music.

Or maybe the Lynyrd Skynyrd version: Myryk Mysyc.

Nerdilydone · Mar 10, 2020

I'm with the others. You're gonna have to change it. It'd be one thing if "Merrick" were in some other line of work other than music, but the fact of the matter is, same name same business? Lawsuit waiting to happen. It'd be one thing if you were briefly mentioning the actual company, but creating your own story about a real company? No go, friend. You're askin' for trouble.

waylander · Mar 10, 2020

What they said - change it unless you love spending time and money with lawyers.

gtanders · Mar 11, 2020

Thanks everyone, I figured. Yeah, it's the MC's last name.

He has himself as the MC and populates the books with real people. Some of them are not too happy about it.

Heh... knowing his work only from afar (second hand), my take is, not cool.

---

I'm just so bummed the name is going to lose its color (I'm synaesthetic).

Merrick Music is a nice blue-and-white.

Merryck--blue and yellow. Not the same flair.

Marrick--the vowel is too low in the mouth, and the dang name has turned red.

What's a synaesthete to do?

MythMonger said:
Or maybe the Lynyrd Skynyrd version: Myryk Mysyc.

Wait, yes. Nailed it.

Thanks again!

frimble3 · Mar 11, 2020

Okay, so, what colour/feel is Myryk Mysyk? I, having no synaethesia, am fascinated.

gtanders · Mar 12, 2020

frimble3 said:
Okay, so, what colour/feel is Myryk Mysyk?

Yellow out the wazoo! (Same with Lynyrd Skynyrd.) The letter Y is yellow for me. It's probably a childhood association from phonics lessons or something?

Thank you, thank you, I'll be in my sideshow tent all week.

benbenberi · Mar 12, 2020

I don't want to rain on your color parade, but as a member of the public I think that Myryk Mysyk is a *terrible* name for a commercial business in an English-speaking setting. Neither Myryk nor Mysyk looks like a real word. (My eyes turn it into Muck Muck. It's already Muck Muck in my head.) More to the point, the whole name gives absolutely no hint what kind of business it's meant to be or that it's even meant to be a business at all. A business name should help its marketing, not get in the way.

gtanders · Mar 12, 2020

benbenberi said:
I don't want to rain on your color parade, but as a member of the public I think that Myryk Mysyk is a *terrible* name for a commercial business in an English-speaking setting.

I know, I was joking.

indianroads · Mar 12, 2020

benbenberi said:
I don't want to rain on your color parade, but as a member of the public I think that Myryk Mysyk is a *terrible* name for a commercial business in an English-speaking setting. Neither Myryk nor Mysyk looks like a real word. (My eyes turn it into Muck Muck. It's already Muck Muck in my head.) More to the point, the whole name gives absolutely no hint what kind of business it's meant to be or that it's even meant to be a business at all. A business name should help its marketing, not get in the way.

Depending on the business, Muck-muck could work. Or, you could borrow Marklar from the Southpark cartoon.

Not all business names need to be unique - if so, we would have run out of names by now. You could have an auto repair shop named Barnes & Noble without problems.

BenPanced · Mar 12, 2020

indianroads said:
Depending on the business, Muck-muck could work. Or, you could borrow Marklar from the Southpark cartoon.

Not all business names need to be unique - if so, we would have run out of names by now. You could have an auto repair shop named Barnes & Noble without problems.

Erm...not quite. Rather, not at all. Both "Barnes & Noble" and "Marklar" are already tied so incontrovertibly to other sources and ideas, there's no way you could extract them from those associations. Readers would see those and quite possible take a pass at going any further, even if you're trying for some "alt universe" deal where neither bookstores nor TV exist. See here and here for some earlier discussion.

indianroads · Mar 12, 2020

Sure, using names of huge conglomerates could cause some difficulty with the reader - but I doubt using 'Barnes and Noble Auto Wreckers' or 'Marklar cupcakes' would raise any legal issues. That was the point of my post, sorry if I was obtuse.

Also remember that we all (probably) use the disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

I've used the name 'The Last Lantern' in several stories and novels as a bookstore and a pub. Googling it, I find a plethora of businesses and even a musician using that name. No problems so far.

gtanders · Mar 12, 2020

I'm no expert on trademark law, but it seems like Barnes & Noble Auto Wreckers would still be a sitting duck for a lawsuit from B&N the bookstore chain.

Maybe I'll just call it Apple Music.

frimble3 · Mar 12, 2020

gtanders said:
Yellow out the wazoo! (Same with Lynyrd Skynyrd.) The letter Y is yellow for me. It's probably a childhood association from phonics lessons or something?

Thank you, thank you, I'll be in my sideshow tent all week.

Sorry, not meaning to imply that you are some sort of oddity. I've heard that it's not uncommon, I've just never met anyone who acknowledged having it, and wondered how it 'worked'. Apologies for making you feel treated like a sideshow act.

What does 'Music' by itself feel like and how about just finding a complementary 'M' name?
BTW, how big is this company supposed to be? Because 'Myryk Music' would work for a small local outfit, before it gets big and the consultants come in and make the name more 'user friendly'. ie Miracle Music.
But, no, still not the name of your MC.

Nerdilydone · Mar 12, 2020

I kinda like "Muck-Muck Music." It sounds ragged and closer to the punk side.

gtanders · Mar 13, 2020

frimble3 said:
Sorry, not meaning to imply that you are some sort of oddity. I've heard that it's not uncommon, I've just never met anyone who acknowledged having it, and wondered how it 'worked'. Apologies for making you feel treated like a sideshow act.

Oh dear, I didn't feel that way at all!

I'm sorry if I caused confusion. The temptation for me is to think I'm special and cool because of stuff like this, and I'm always trying to guard against my own pride, stay level-headed, etc. The joke was probably some internal monologue which I should've kept internal. I've really appreciated your input on this thread and others, and I never felt like anything was amiss.

The synaesthesia thing is pretty interesting to live with. E.g., betas usually point out ~2-5 typos in my finished MSS (the same ones from multiple betas, which makes the set feel complete), and from "the inside," I can say it's because of the synaesthesia. The spelling of any word I know is automatic, due to the color-coding.

If only I could get myself this high-functioning when it comes to character motivations!

Alas, that requires talent and practice.

SwallowFeather · Mar 13, 2020

gtanders said:
Oh dear, I didn't feel that way at all! I'm sorry if I caused confusion. The temptation for me is to think I'm special and cool because of stuff like this, and I'm always trying to guard against my own pride, stay level-headed, etc. The joke was probably some internal monologue which I should've kept internal. I've really appreciated your input on this thread and others, and I never felt like anything was amiss.

The synaesthesia thing is pretty interesting to live with. E.g., betas usually point out ~2-5 typos in my finished MSS (the same ones from multiple betas, which makes the set feel complete), and from "the inside," I can say it's because of the synaesthesia. The spelling of any word I know is automatic, due to the color-coding.

If only I could get myself this high-functioning when it comes to character motivations! Alas, that requires talent and practice.

My letters aren't color-coded but for some reason my numbers are. I never could've memorized phone numbers without it (back in the day when you had to--actually I still do b/c I don't have what people now call "a phone") because numbers are inherently boring to me and don't stick in my head. 0 is clear, 1 is white, 2 is blue, 3 is pink, 4 is brown, 5 is magenta, 6 is yellow, 7 is green, 8 is orange and 9 is scarlet. I don't know where it came from (I wonder if there was some learning toy in those colors when I was a kid) but it's very helpful.

My fictitious company isn't so fictitious... what do I do?

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