Trademark question

[M Crim]

I need a second (or third or fourth opinion). In the story I'm working on, I mention the cable channel Showtime. The editor I'm working with (who has been doing a great and amazing work) suggested that I remove the reference to Showtime because I would be infringing on their trademark.

Would I be? I'm not using their trademark to sell something. The editor likens it to downloading music illegally.

 

[Weird Harold]

I need a second (or third or fourth opinion). In the story I'm working on, I mention the cable channel Showtime. The editor I'm working with (who has been doing a great and amazing work) suggested that I remove the reference to Showtime because I would be infringing on their trademark.

Would I be? I'm not using their trademark to sell something. The editor likens it to downloading music illegally.

I think your editor is probably being overly cautious, but it depends on the context in which you use their name.

Where you're likely to run into a problem with trademarks like Showtime is if you impute some action or content to them in your story which would harm their reputation in some way.

That doesn't mean you can't have a character say something like, "Showtime Sucks! Let's watch the Cartoon Channel instead."

The example would probably be acceptable under the Fair Use doctrine -- Your character (and you) are entitled to express an opinion about copyrighted or trademarked material as long as you don't get slanderous about it.

It would make for very boring stories if authors weren't permitted to refer to products and services that exist in the real world -- not to mention placing an onerous burden on them to invent analogs for every trademarked product and copyrrighted song to create a world where their characters can express opinions without offending anyone.

 

[Lisa Denton]

I need a second (or third or fourth opinion). In the story I'm working on, I mention the cable channel Showtime. The editor I'm working with (who has been doing a great and amazing work) suggested that I remove the reference to Showtime because I would be infringing on their trademark.

Would I be? I'm not using their trademark to sell something. The editor likens it to downloading music illegally.

We was talking trademarks, copyrights, infringments and stuff somewhere else. With our stories here on Lit we have Laurel protecting our stuff.

The laws can be so bent and you can always bet they will pick on the one who made no profit and meant no wrong.

Your editor may be right, and giving you good advice to just don't take a chance. Is the name crucial to your plot, can you just change it to Blowtime, not really a pun.

 

[brightlyiburn]

I need a second (or third or fourth opinion). In the story I'm working on, I mention the cable channel Showtime. The editor I'm working with (who has been doing a great and amazing work) suggested that I remove the reference to Showtime because I would be infringing on their trademark.

Would I be? I'm not using their trademark to sell something. The editor likens it to downloading music illegally.

I wouldn't be too worried. If I haven't been nailed for all the product placement and suchwhat in my stories, you have nothing to worry about.

 

[M Crim]

The reference was something along the lines of "Brad was watching a softcore porno on Showtime" if that makes any difference.


A side note I was just reading a short story in a major glossy magazine and noticed the author said something about a beige Nissan the main character was driving.

I think (i'm not sure) I'm going to leave Showtime in my story.

 

[Boota]

I tried to avoid using copyrighted or trademarked references in my novel in anything that could be construed as derogatory, but I used them rather freely otherwise. As long as your use isn't a challenge to their rights or libelous I think you're in the clear. My character lived on Twinkies and 7UP, so I don't think those companies would have a problem with me saying how much he enjoyed their products. Instead of using real business names in the shitty fast food places where my character worked I just called them Burger Hell, Pizza Hell, Taco Hell, Waffle Hell, etc. That way McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Waffle House couldn't sue me. (Although a lawsuit would have probably helped my book sell better. LOL.)

What context are you using Showtime in?

 

[brightlyiburn]

The reference was something along the lines of "Brad was watching a softcore porno on Showtime" if that makes any difference.


A side note I was just reading a short story in a major glossy magazine and noticed the author said something about a beige Nissan the main character was driving.

I think (i'm not sure) I'm going to leave Showtime in my story.

Chances are good that no one will complain. That's not copyright infringement, it's free advertising. Hell, when I'm writing my own work and I mention a restaurant or something, I suddenly want to go there.

 

[Lisa Denton]

The reference was something along the lines of "Brad was watching a softcore porno on Showtime" if that makes any difference.


A side note I was just reading a short story in a major glossy magazine and noticed the author said something about a beige Nissan the main character was driving.

I think (i'm not sure) I'm going to leave Showtime in my story.

I though you were making it, or something like it, a key part of your story. The was you used it was o.k., does Showtime have any good softcore porno?

 

[Boota]

That usage of Showtime is perfectly acceptable.

 

[R. Richard]

One problem you might run into is the need of a company to "defend" their trademark. It is not just a matter of showing a product in a bad light, but rather a matter of the possibility of letting a trademark/copyright slip into the public domain.

Asprin is/was a trademark of the Bayer company. During WW I, companies in the US started to use asprin for their products. By the end of the war, US courts ruled that the name asprin was in the public domain. In another matter, the Duncan company did defend their "yo-yo" trademark, but the courts finally ruled that other companies could use the yo-yo name, since the name was the only way to identify the product. However, other companies had to use "yo-yo top" and not just "yo-yo."

If you need to use a trademark/copy name in a story, you are supposed to use the trademark/copy symbol to show that you are respecting the trademark/copy hoder's rights. You will note that many extended fonts have the trademark/copy symbols.

 

[M Crim]

Showtime have any good softcore porno?

I remember when I was 16 it seemed like good softcore porno. Looking back at it now, it's nothing more than bad porn without the actually penetration.