Can you write a book and use real names?

Writers worry about using real people’s names in fiction. Even memoirists and nonfiction writers identify people by name and worry about the ramifications. Can writers model characters after real people and name names without getting sued? Yes, they can, with some common sense limitations.

Can you use real brand names in books?

Mentioning a brand name in a work of fiction is generally considered fair use* unless it goes so far as to infringe on the rights of the owner.

Can you mention real places in a novel?

If you decide to use a real place in your fiction, make sure you know it well. Even if you do this, basing your fictional setting on a real place can help you create a stronger sense of reality. You can describe actual places, but give them new names. Shift things around to better suit your plot.

Can I copyright a book under a fake name?

Under U.S. law you can’t copyright a name, real or fictitious. Copyrights protect authorship, such as short stories, poems, or novels. You can register a manuscript under a pen name at the copyright office (www.copyright.gov). You’ll have to provide some information, including your real address.

Can I mention other books in a book?

No permission is needed to mention song titles, movie titles, names, etc. You do not need permission to include song titles, movie titles, TV show titles—any kind of title—in your work. You can also include the names of places, things, events, and people in your work without asking permission.

Are you allowed to use real names in an autobiography?

You can use the real names of those who have given you written permission to do so. But when getting written permission isn’t something you can or want to do, it might be easier to change the names of the characters in your memoir.

Can I mention real people in a non-fiction book?

If you are writing a non-fiction book, you may mention real people and real events.   However, if what you write about identifiable, living people could be seriously damaging to their reputation, then you need to consider the risks of defamation and privacy and how to minimize those risks.

Should you use brand names in fiction?

Again, the use brand names in fiction is not a sleep-depriving issue. It would be obsessive (and stylistically unpalatable) to use the R-in-a-circle symbol or the TM symbol every time you refer to a brand name in your text.

Should you capitalize brand names in writing?

Once in a while, a writer will receive a lawyer’s letter from a company urging him/her not to genericize the company’s brand names. Usually, the dispute goes no farther than that. Writers can avoid even mild reprimands of this sort by respectfully capitalizing brand names.

What are the risks of using real people in writing?

Writers face three big risks when using real people in their writing: defamation, invasion of privacy, and misappropriation of the right of publicity. Yet every fiction writer bases characters on real people. Memoirists and nonfiction writers identify people by name.