Brand Names in stories?

[DeeZire]

Can we use brand names in stories? Like shopping at Frederick's, or mentioning The Gates Foundation as the underwriter for a scientific sex study?

I know I could find the answer by doing a little reading, but who has time for that? I do recall seeing stories around here with fake names alluding to recognizable brands. I prefer the real thing, especially if the story casts the brand in a bad light. I see it as satire, which, I believe, is protected speech.

 

[Vermilion]

Well, just my opinion, but as long as the story wasn't a full length decryal of the product I see no reason whatsoever why one shouldn't be able to use a brand name...

x
V

 

[Lee Chambers]

There are a lot of modern day stories that use brand names like Coke or Pepsi, things like that or mention store names. As long as you're not using the brand itself to make a profit then I don't believe it's an issue.

 

[CharleyH]

Can we use brand names in stories? Like shopping at Frederick's, or mentioning The Gates Foundation as the underwriter for a scientific sex study?

I know I could find the answer by doing a little reading, but who has time for that? I do recall seeing stories around here with fake names alluding to recognizable brands. I prefer the real thing, especially if the story casts the brand in a bad light. I see it as satire, which, I believe, is protected speech.

Brands set the stage. Use and abuse them. PS? A writer who has no time for research is a bad one.

 

[Saucy_Sage]

Sure. Go ahead, have that Coke. Eat those Cheerios. But hold out for product placement fees. If they're not willing to pay, my characters will be enjoying soda and eating cereal-os.

Seriously, I think it's fine. And as long as you stick to opinion, you won't run afoul of any libel laws. If you start saying that Pop-Tarts have razor blades inside them, you could get into trouble. Although even then, someone would have to believe you.

 

[DeeZire]

Brands set the stage. Use and abuse them. PS? A writer who has no time for research is a bad one.

I actually do research sometimes. Yesterday I was at wiki learning all about thongs. I never realized there were so many defined variations.

Does anyone know what color a Frederick's of Hollywood bag is? I'd go find out myself, but my GF has no interest in that stuff, and if I bought something for her twenty-one year-old daughter, I'd be doing research on how to reattach my dick to my body.

What I don't have a lot of time for is recreational reading, but I realize we must make time for the things that are important to us. Writing for me is an escape from my real life, not an avocation, so it's a balancing act.

 

[sr71plt]

Yes you can use brand names. If they are trademarked names you just have to spell them as trademarked. (An updating, comprehensive list of trademarked names can be found on the International Trademark Association Web site at www.inta.org..

(If you are parodying the product in fiction, you can get away with altering the name too.)

 

[Liar]

Brands set the stage. Use and abuse them. PS? A writer who has no time for research is a bad one.

Hey now, asking other writers is research too. Looking up on your own what a bunch of other people already know, is ineffective research.

And yes Dee, use and abuse.

 

[DeeZire]

Thanks, ya'll. I just didn't want to get Lauren in trouble by tying the Gates Foundation to a scientific sex study.

 

[epiphany65]

I've mentioned brand names in my stories and so far no one at the site seems to've had a problem with it.

 

[sr71plt]

I've mentioned brand names in my stories and so far no one at the site seems to've had a problem with it.

That sounds comforting, but since the Web site administrators exhibit little knowledge of copyright issues, I'd suggest you keep your own behind covered on these issues--your risk doesn't transfer.

 

[slyc_willie]

Thanks, ya'll. I just didn't want to get Lauren in trouble by tying the Gates Foundation to a scientific sex study.

Yeah, you wouldn't want to make a brand name part of the plot. Casual mention of a character drinking a Coke is one thing. Saying the Coke makes the character sado-masochistic is another.

 

[CeriseNoire]

Does anyone know what color a Frederick's of Hollywood bag is? I'd go find out myself, but my GF has no interest in that stuff, and if I bought something for her twenty-one year-old daughter, I'd be doing research on how to reattach my dick to my body.

They're red.

 

[sr71plt]

Saying the Coke makes the character sado-masochistic is another.

It's in nonfiction that you could have a problem with that. No one's ever successfully been sued for doing this with fiction, I don't think.

 

[lil_elvis]

It's fine to some extent, but it shouldn't be a crutch to replace good descriptive writing. For instance, rather than saying he was wearing a Gildo Zegna suit, it would be better to say he wore a luxurious double breasted Italian wool charcoal grey pinstripe suit.

My $.02

 

[oggbashan]

It's fine to some extent, but it shouldn't be a crutch to replace good descriptive writing. For instance, rather than saying he was wearing a Gildo Zegna suit, it would be better to say he wore a luxurious double breasted Italian wool charcoal grey pinstripe suit.

My $.02

Brand names can date a story.

Some of my favourite writers from the 1930s used brand names to convey a meaning that is no longer valid for example using a car name to convey the success or otherwise of a character. In the UK in the 1930s owning any car at all was unusual.

Some things change too rapidly. Bank managers used to be regarded as examplars of financial rectitude and solid, if boring, worth. You couldn't use them like that now.

Sinclair Lewis and Thorne Smith used volunteer firefighters as solid pillars of the community who regarded their duties almost as a social event. Fires and firefighting technology have moved on. The solid burghers of the 1930s couldn't handle modern emergencies...

There is also the possibility that some reader will know much more about the brand than you do. You couldn't associate Coca-Cola with a red-suited Santa Claus in the 1920s.

Og
Og

 

[sr71plt]

It's fine to some extent, but it shouldn't be a crutch to replace good descriptive writing. For instance, rather than saying he was wearing a Gildo Zegna suit, it would be better to say he wore a luxurious double breasted Italian wool charcoal grey pinstripe suit.

My $.02

Not sure I agree with you there. For some brand products, the mere use of the a name speaks volumes about the character. And the fewer words you use to latch the reader into the character's traits, the better.

 

[DeeZire]

They're red.

Thanks for that. Care to tell us what was in your red Frederick's bag?

 

[oggbashan]

Not sure I agree with you there. For some brand products, the mere use of the a name speaks volumes about the character. And the fewer words you use to latch the reader into the character's traits, the better.

But they don't travel.

I have no idea what a Gildo Zegna suit is. I understand genuine Saville Row suits, as worn by the Prince of Wales.

Og

 

[Guest]

revenue streams...

We’ve found that the strategic utilization of Brand/Trade Names in ScouriesWorld stories can generate an important revenue stream that augments our ROYALTIES quite nicely.

In fact, in fiscal 2007, 22% of total “Book Division” revenues came from commercial alliances we’d formed with “Fortune 500” companies.

Gabrielle L.

 

[DeeZire]

Get out of my thread, windbag.

ETA: Your interest in corporate sponsorship could explain why your writing reads like an X-rated Hallmark card.

 

[michchick98]

Can we use brand names in stories? Like shopping at Frederick's, or mentioning The Gates Foundation as the underwriter for a scientific sex study?

I've used brand names in a few of my stories in the past. Mostly Coke or Pepsi when referring to a drink for a character.

I've seen it in books I've read too. One book I read a couple years ago had the female character 'addicted' to Mountain Dew and the product was mentioned throughout the story as her 'weakness.'

As others have said, I don't think it'd be a big issue or something to worry about.

 

[michchick98]

Get out of my thread, windbag.

ETA: Your interest in corporate sponsorship could explain why your writing reads like an X-rated Hallmark card.

Scouries and his alts are so much more pleasant when one has them on ignore. I should've done it months ago. Yeah, I know he's there, but I can't read any of the delusional drivel he's posting. Quite refreshing.

 

[jomar]

Can we use brand names in stories? Like shopping at Frederick's, or mentioning The Gates Foundation as the underwriter for a scientific sex study?

Just stay away from naming websites in stories on Lit, even fake ones.

Not sure I agree with you there. For some brand products, the mere use of the a name speaks volumes about the character. And the fewer words you use to latch the reader into the character's traits, the better.

American Psycho by Brett Ellis was overboard on materialism and name brand products, if I remember correctly.

 

[slyc_willie]

It's in nonfiction that you could have a problem with that. No one's ever successfully been sued for doing this with fiction, I don't think.

I would still say it's a gray area. Fiction can easily begin and kill fads (witness Greg Kinnear's affectation for pinot noir in Little Miss Sunshine (?); after the movie came out, we sold more of that wine at the restaurant than any other). But I doubt any of us will ever have to worry about besmirching any brand name to the extent where it starts a defamatory fad. We're not exactly household names here.