tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post5202953145766295697..comments2023-11-02T06:57:11.400-04:00Comments on BookEnds Literary Agency: Character CopyrightBookEnds, A Literary Agencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06287278822065839469noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-30323183535024125202011-03-23T13:10:38.070-04:002011-03-23T13:10:38.070-04:00Another related question: Can you give your charac...Another related question: Can you give your character the same name as a famous character? Using the Nancy Drew example, if your MC's parents were detectives with the last name Drew and they had a really lame sense of humour, could they name their daughter Nancy? I don't see why anyone would want to have their main character named Nancy Drew, but I'm just curious.Elanor Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00936078326828012174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-55844698267046858792011-03-23T09:52:22.028-04:002011-03-23T09:52:22.028-04:00I'm going to take this in a slightly different...I'm going to take this in a slightly different direction. I agree with the Bookends comments about how these are problems for the Legal Department. But burning questions about whether or not you can set a scene in Starbucks, or quote an oft-quoted Wizard of Oz line speak to something else, for me. <br /><br />These are problems that can easily be addressed by someone else, after the book is written, re-written, polished, Agented and sent out for sale. Not something to worry about during drafting. Or pre-drafting. Or revisions. And I know that when I become overly worried about such things, I'm using it as a way to avoid writing the dreaded Middle, or a difficult scene, or revising. <br /><br />I would say, leave this stuff to the experts. Concentrate on the story, your characters. Work on "Being More Awesome". The Starbucks trademarks will take care of themselves. Or rather, somone with expertise in the matter will take care of it, and you'll THINK it took care of itself.Professor Oddcabinethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07271368609074154818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-4194880608221882072011-03-22T18:08:17.548-04:002011-03-22T18:08:17.548-04:00We should also note that it would be perfectly fin...We should also note that it would be perfectly fine for you to use Nancy Drew as a character in your novel if those books were in the public domain. This is why Alan Moore could recycle characters from 19th-century classics in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Seth Grahame-Smith could write Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.<br /><br />Otherwise, yeah, you can totally make a reference to a character/product/band/whatever without gaining permission. You might run into defamation issues if you're really negative, though.Kristin Laughtinhttp://kristinlaughtin.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-66281489810181316262011-03-22T15:11:10.990-04:002011-03-22T15:11:10.990-04:00This isn't a COPYRIGHT question; it's a TR...This isn't a COPYRIGHT question; it's a TRADEMARK question. You can't copyright a name or idea. <br /><br />You can use trademarked words in your book so long as they are not being used to SELL the product. Can't be on the cover or in the title or press material, etc. <br /><br />An off-handed reference to Nancy Drew or any other trademarked thing is no problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-44606898352770500922011-03-22T14:07:34.157-04:002011-03-22T14:07:34.157-04:00I recently had one of my characters quote a movie ...<i>I recently had one of my characters quote a movie character – the infamous line, “I don’t think were in Kansas anymore, Toto.” </i><br /><br />What's infamous about that line? "Infamous" means "deserving of an evil reputation."Andrewhttp://www.zenbija.com/wordpressnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-35574534092621543112011-03-22T12:07:04.945-04:002011-03-22T12:07:04.945-04:00Keep in mind that the answers to some of these que...Keep in mind that the answers to some of these questions are going to come down to what a publisher and/or the publisher's legal team will allow. Here are my answers though:<br /><br />Yes a scene can take place in a Starbucks, McDonalds, or Gap<br /><br />It's okay to name musicians or bands and have your character go to a Rolling Stones concert. Song lyrics are very tricky and you definitely need permission to use them. Personally, I would avoid song lyrics.<br /><br />I don't know about Adam Levin using Philip Roth. He might have gotten permission and yes, I suppose Philip Roth could have sued had he been unhappy or felt it defamed his character.<br /><br />--jhfBookEnds, A Literary Agencyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06287278822065839469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-23198251691460612102011-03-22T11:55:55.842-04:002011-03-22T11:55:55.842-04:00Thanks for this topic. I recently had one of my ch...Thanks for this topic. I recently had one of my characters quote a movie character – the infamous line, “I don’t think were in Kansas anymore, Toto.” <br /><br />I also am interested on how it works with song lyrics. I have another character sing a song from back in the 1970’s. I worked it in and gave credit to the singer/songwriter in the text leading up to where the character starts singing the lyrics to song.Loree Huebnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09845600356878587780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-20880529685197690332011-03-22T11:04:35.650-04:002011-03-22T11:04:35.650-04:00This really is one of those times where having a p...This really is one of those times where having a publisher and good copyeditor does come in handy. They will tell you, during edits, what can and cannot be used without permission.ryan fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361694356025572544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-2284597463850408022011-03-22T10:49:35.501-04:002011-03-22T10:49:35.501-04:00I'd often wondered about this. Thanks!I'd often wondered about this. Thanks!Scooter Carlylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06193754150220063430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-73805778092710934872011-03-22T10:23:02.649-04:002011-03-22T10:23:02.649-04:00To kind of copy off of Norma Jean's question: ...To kind of copy off of Norma Jean's question: I've heard that song lyrics are difficult to use and should be avoided. But based off what you said if I had a character go to a Rolling Stones concert, that'd be okay?T.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09686063961881406987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-61296347292912959472011-03-22T10:20:12.044-04:002011-03-22T10:20:12.044-04:00What about Adam Levin, who used Philip Roth as a c...What about Adam Levin, who used Philip Roth as a character of his books, could it have created problems?Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11483490020980574428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-54020138164110678262011-03-22T10:17:37.319-04:002011-03-22T10:17:37.319-04:00What about music references? I'm assuming whe...What about music references? I'm assuming when it comes to naming musicians/bands it works the same way.<br /><br />Specifically though, what about using the lyrics in a song? Would we need permission for this?Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13194120188040608319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-2867932946151740372011-03-22T08:50:15.356-04:002011-03-22T08:50:15.356-04:00Thank you for the information. Does the same hold...Thank you for the information. Does the same hold true for products? Can a scene take place in a Starbucks, for example? Or does it need to be a coffee shop that just happens to sell travel coffee mugs, cd's, have a greeen logo and offer grande lattes?Elizabeth Michelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10423638103712093921noreply@blogger.com