Scifi and Fantasy Forum: Writers Discussion: Questions :Brand named items....usable?

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Scifi and Fantasy Forum: Writer's Discussion: Questions : Brand named items....usable?

Brand named items....usable?

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Posted By:

Aeawyn Mar 31, 2005 - 04:56 pm

In books, can you use brand name items? For example, instead of "I turned of the T.V." could i put "I turned on the Sony Xp-3513 television"?

I'm currently writing a book about the army (which i realized was really close to the idea that Tom clancy had in clear and present danger...and i hadnt even read it until this week! Coincidence hah...anyways back on track) and i want to use certain guns, certain technologies, certain etc etc.

I know it sounds stupid...but does the company have to ok it or anything?

Yes i know this shows my stupidity But i didnt know. Thanks

Posted By:

Manjionlaptop Apr 01, 2005 - 04:03 am

Nope. Especially gun names.

Posted By:

Spiderkeg Apr 01, 2005 - 07:14 am

Well, I'm not an expert on this subject, but I have read plenty of books in which so-and-so jumped into his Ford Bronco, so-and-so went to the closet and put on his Hugo Boss suit, or so-and-so flew on Southwest Airlines to Australia.

These are references to brand names that I've read mentioned in novels. Now whether royalties had to be paid to the respective owners occured, I would imagine so but I couldn't be sure. I'm not an expert on this subject.

For now, write it up and then worry about royalties when it comes time to publish.

Posted By:

aldan Apr 01, 2005 - 10:29 pm

One thing to remember is that if you have an item that doesn't work properly, it should probably be a "fakey" and not a RL brand-name item, to avoid potential lawsuits...

Posted By:

Bmat Apr 02, 2005 - 05:48 am

I searched and found this comment on http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=229456

Quote:
Brand names are covered by trademarks, not copyrights. If the use of a trademark is purely descriptive -- An "IBM PC" or a "Dell Laptop" -- and not used in any way that it implies sponsorship by the trademark holder or any other relationship with the trademark holder, then it is okay to use the trademark. Typically, you would make sure to add the "R" in a circle after any federally-registered mark, and "TM" after any mark that is not federally registered.

In addition, many larger companys will have a trademark usage policy on their corporate website -- if they do, that will tell you exactly how each trademark holder wants to see their mark used by someone else. Although the above rules will pretty much keep you in the clear, if a company has a usage policy, you should follow it to ensure you won't get into any trouble down the line.