Characters discussing RL Movies or TV

[Eddie_King]

Hi - I have a story idea rattling around that would involve the main characters watching a real-life TV show. They'd discuss certain plot points and ideally even mention the show's characters by name.

So i'm wondering - are there any prohibitions here about using discussions of RL movies or TV in our stories?

Thanks.

 

[LeandraNyx]

Deleted

 

[jburton042]

I'm curious as to how this is looked upon also. I've seen plenty of stories that reference music, can't think of many that directly reference TV or movies. I've been working on my first story and music plays a fairly important role. I guess it's mostly up to each reader if they can relate to it or not.

 

[Weird Harold]

Hi - I have a story idea rattling around that would involve the main characters watching a real-life TV show. They'd discuss certain plot points and ideally even mention the show's characters by name.

So i'm wondering - are there any prohibitions here about using discussions of RL movies or TV in our stories?

Thanks.

There are no prohibitions, but that probably comes with a bunch of qualifications -- libel and slander laws, for example.

In general, I would suggest avoiding pop-culture/fad references, especially as major plot elements, because they will "date" your story and target it at a limited audience. (I don't watch much TV other than PBS, so your entire premise would fail for me.)

Music is a little less critical as far as "dating" a story because "oldies radio" and the internet make music of any era plausible. I'd still avoid making a specific song a major plot element because it artificially limits your audience. Some very popular and long running series overcome the limitations of being "based on" or "inspired by" a song's lyrics, but they are exceptions that feature very good writing/storytelling.

 

[SusanJillParker]

Hi - I have a story idea rattling around that would involve the main characters watching a real-life TV show. They'd discuss certain plot points and ideally even mention the show's characters by name.

So i'm wondering - are there any prohibitions here about using discussions of RL movies or TV in our stories?

Thanks.

It sounds like an episode of Seinfeld (lol).

Good luck with your story.

 

[sr71plt]

there are legal limitations to talking about "real world" products/companies/media.

Not nearly as much as folks seem to think. There's virtually nothing that you can't name or comment on concerning existing products/companies/businesses/locationsmedia. You might have trouble getting it posted here at Literotica, but that has nothing to do with the legality of writing about it.

The major issue with such writing is that it specifically dates the content and it limits the readership--not everyone will have a clue what that TV show is about. Most people have nothing more fancy than basic cable now, and thus have no idea what most of the TV shows are about that people and movie magazines discuss now.

 

[Eddie_King]

Thanks for the feedback so far. And i appreciate the opinions that references to particular TV shows or movies might limit the audience or date the story. It's worth considering - but i can't say that's a major concern for me in this case.

 

[LeandraNyx]

Deleted

 

[sr71plt]

Yeah, I agree, the risk is very limited. If you wanted to be really anal about it, here's an article on the legality of the subject, but as you can see, even the author's opinion basically boils down to, "Don't worry about it."



I mean, I pretty much just do Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Now, so...

I don't think most can afford to do it. Americans, in particular, are pretty blind about the extent of poverty in the States. I don't do it by choice.

 

[CyranoJ]

So i'm wondering - are there any prohibitions here about using discussions of RL movies or TV in our stories?

As others have already covered, there are no formal prohibitions, although if you're publishing and you make reference to trademarked companies or properties, your publisher should have a page acknowledging the owners of the trademarks, and generally you'd want to use them in a way that doesn't get you sued for libel (or just use some easily-recognizable fictional substitute).

I use references to music and film and certain brands pretty liberally in some of my stories, but they're mostly there for flavour. Actually building a story around them would be an interesting challenge but a daunting one; as others have remarked, it can limit your audience pretty quickly right off the top unless the reference you're using is really ubiquitous.

(I do write a series that's basically a Star Trek parody with the serial numbers filed off, but it adheres to the Pizza Planet principle as seen in Toy Story in that it's built from the ground up to be its own thing -- recognizable to someone who knows the material, but it doesn't directly reference anything from the actual show or require readers to know anything about it.)

 

[sr71plt]

if you're publishing and you make reference to trademarked companies or properties, your publisher should have a page acknowledging the owners of the trademarks,

Nope, not even that for references only. You can have a character drink a Pepsi to your heart's content. You can have your character get sick on that Pepsi to your heart's content. You can have your character use a Pepsi can to . . . well, you know . . . to your heart's content.

Folks assume too much about what trademark covers (one thing it does cover is that you should spell the name as trademarked if you are referring specifically to that product--but you won't be sued for not doing that either). Companies of course aren't going to declare that their trademark rights are limited in fiction--or even nonfiction.

 

[CyranoJ]

Nope, not even that for references only. You can have a character drink a Pepsi to your heart's content. You can have your character get sick on that Pepsi to your heart's content. You can have your character use a Pepsi can to . . . well, you know . . . to your heart's content.

Okay, that's interesting. Thanks.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

It seems that there is such a fine line with trademarks and copyright.
I have a shop on etsy and I mostly sell upcycled items, baby clothes, baby blankets and tee shirts, that I have made from an old tee shirt.
I shop thrift stores to find neat tees, bands and other stuff. Some bands, etc, say no you can't do this. Can't use our name and can't resell anything of ours unless it's resell in the same condition. Others don't seem to care.
The Paul Frank company made me take down a Christmas stocking I had made using their fabric. But that's the only one that has stopped me so far.

But it seems like every day I hear something different about what I can and can't do. I do know I would never mess around with Mickey but that's ok with me because I hate Disney!

I'm going to try to post an example of what I make. This is a baby outfit, side snap tee, pants and a hat I made from the softest women's Led Zeppelin tee shirt. I had the coordinating stripe fabric in my stash. I am a complete fabric hoarder!
Ok I don't think it's showing up. I don't know why I can never get pictures to post here!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/mindid/c0252409-aab3-47d0-ba6e-c49eef7275d3_zpsvtlnh7nz.jpg

Ok I did it, but sorry the picture is HUGE!

 

[sr71plt]

Those are different uses than for writing.

 

[RetroFan]

There are no prohibitions, but that probably comes with a bunch of qualifications -- libel and slander laws, for example.

In general, I would suggest avoiding pop-culture/fad references, especially as major plot elements, because they will "date" your story and target it at a limited audience. (I don't watch much TV other than PBS, so your entire premise would fail for me.)

Music is a little less critical as far as "dating" a story because "oldies radio" and the internet make music of any era plausible. I'd still avoid making a specific song a major plot element because it artificially limits your audience. Some very popular and long running series overcome the limitations of being "based on" or "inspired by" a song's lyrics, but they are exceptions that feature very good writing/storytelling.

I do the opposite of this as my specialty is writing stories set in the past.

For example, in a story I wrote set in Sydney, Australia in 1980 the main male character looks forward to the sequel of his favorite movie 'Star Wars' being released that year, and a female character says that she and her boyfriend went to see 'Mad Max' (known as the Road Warrior in the USA) at the drive-in. This helps date my story and make it seem more authentic to the time.

In another story set in Melbourne Australia in 1997, I specifically reference a character using dial up internet, and three girls listening to the Spice Girls, Hanson and the Backstreet Boys, again to date my work to the late 1990s.

 

[uksnowy]

I sometimes mention "slebs" and Brit TV programmes in my stuff as that's where a lot of my inspiration comes from.
Toying with a tale with Theresa May (Maybe a mystery to folk across the pond) a body guard and a mainline TV presenter, purely inspired by a news item last night.
She fit nicely into my favourite mature female story lines.

 

[Bramblethorn]

(disclaimer: am not IP lawyer but did a short course on IP law way back when)

Nope, not even that for references only. You can have a character drink a Pepsi to your heart's content. You can have your character get sick on that Pepsi to your heart's content. You can have your character use a Pepsi can to . . . well, you know . . . to your heart's content.

Yep, this. I have occasionally seen authors do what Cyrano suggests with an acknowledgements page at the front, but I'm not aware of any law that requires it.

Trademark infringement mostly boils down to: are you attempting to usurp somebody else's business identity and trade on their name? If I bottle my own cola and sell it as "Coke", I'm taking advantage of the reputation that Coca-Cola have built up as a reliable supplier of sugary fizz, and if my fake "Coke" tastes bad then that may damage their reputation. And then you'll have to answer to the Coca-Cola company...

But if one company named "Apple" is in the business of selling music, and another "Apple" is in the business of selling computers... no conflict. People know they're two different things; there's no infringement. Until Apple Computers gets into the business of selling music and then the IP lawyers break out the champagne.

This notice from the LEGO Group is a pretty good example to what you can reasonably do with a trademark. Most of it summarises to "feel free to talk about us but don't pretend to be us", along with "always use our brand as an adjective, not as a noun" which is a genericisation issue.