35 Comments

Thanks for the post, Winston! Also good to keep global audiences in mind. EU law is a bit more convoluted than the US and you can run afoul of copyright laws if you don't receive express permission to use logos or excerpts. I was warned by an editor that to use part of a TS Eliot poem in my book, I'd need to get permission from the estate!

As you say, it's about risk and the nature of the work you're producing.

Curious what other readers/writers think? Especially those from other regions of the world.

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Mar 31, 2023Liked by Geoffrey Golden, Winston Malone

I read Jennifer Government by Max Barry which is so full of brand names that get absolutely dragged through the mud. He included a disclaimer that his work was satire. But even so, a Nike rep being hired to shoot a kid in order to generate hype for a new line of shoes is a pretty jarring thing to read.

The book was amazing and an effective satire to boot. I havent worried about trademarks since that book since nothing I could possibly write would be as bad as that!

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Thanks for sharing this. I've barely given much thought to how you can use trademarked brands in writing; most of my past concerns have involved the mention of copyrighted work (like other fiction, songs, or movie/TV lines) in stories. That would probably be another good and useful topic to look into. Anyway, I'm glad that I now know when mentioning brands could become a problem, and I'll certainly keep in mind some of this information going forward.

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Very interesting ... I’ve set the novel I’m writing at Amazon (where I worked once briefly), though there is no judgment on the company itself as being either good or bad, though plenty of judgments about the people who work there. It’s a setting, really. But I’ve wondered if this could be problematic. You’ve given me food for thought, if not a resolution.

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Very interesting post Winston. A lot of us shy away from using brand names but I think the writing loses some authenticity when everything is generic. Eg: Jimmy picked up a burrito and a six-pack of Beer, vs. Jimmy picked up a burrito and a six-pack of Bud.

Thanks for the post.

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I was worrying about this just the other day with a story I'm working on! This was helpful, thank you!

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This post is so timely. Yesterday, I described my MC in my latest novel as wearing Hunter rain boots and I was wondering if I should make up a brand. I usually make up names for companies because that's fun. I'll be sharing this post with my writing peep as well.

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Helpful! Good info. Makes me think of trends in fiction versus writing more universally. I don’t think naming specific brands is necessary most of the time. It’ll be out of date a month or two later anyway. Better to focus less on brand names and more on deep fiction that touches something more profound inside readers. That’s my take.

Michael Mohr

‘Sincere American Writing’

https://michaelmohr.substack.com/

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How did American psycho get published at all with all the brand names in there, being associated with a serial killer?

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Mar 31, 2023·edited Mar 31, 2023Liked by Winston Malone

I sincerely doubt that most uses of a brand name in a work of fiction would rise to the level of legal culpability. However, that of course would never stop a legal action from a deep pocketed company because it’s frequently more about bullying than the actual law and they know most people don’t have the resources to fight it. So good info to have here.

As for me, I rarely mention a brand because the brand doesn’t have anything to do with the story. A cigarette is a cigarette and if I use one in a story, I prefer to focus on the person lighting it up rather than the brand. Same with a car or shoes. People know what those things are, but not everybody can relate to a particular brand. I like to keep it more universal, as Michael mentioned in this thread.

Having said that, I did use the word Coke recently in a very general sense within a piece of dialog. If they yell at me, I suppose I can change it to Pepsi. :)

https://dcreed.substack.com/p/terminal-los-angeles

Thanks for the post Winston.

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This had me wondering how often it is I include brands in my drafts...? Not much. But sometimes? I think? I feel like I use them sparingly.

But, I will say that sometimes there's a lot of power in the brands your character opts for, so this info is really useful. And reassuring. Thanks for sharing!

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This is great info, Winston, thanks! I can't say I mention many brands in my historical writing, but I've always wondered what the protocol would be if I used one in a story. Good to know :-)

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Good post! In my book I referenced a Kevin Smith movie, and even though I did not damage the movie, I still chose to change the name just to be safe. Plus, I feel like it added to the thought that the reader was in a different universe that was similar to ours.

I also did research on if I could add the lyrics to song in a story word for word which falls under copyright, and that is a whole other can of worms. Music companies can be ruthless!

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