All Questions
13 questions
1
vote
2
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960
views
Is it okay if I use a historical figure's name for a work of fiction completely unrelated to history?
I was planning at some point to write a mystery fiction unrelated to history. I was inspired by writers who used literary figures as a name for their characters, yet the plot was completely unrelated ...
- 11
2
votes
3
answers
134
views
When is it better to use a real life versus a generic fast food company name when talking about a regional chain?
So, I know that questions regarding the usage of real-life company names has been brought up before, but this is a really weird example that I've run into that doesn't seem covered by the previous ...
- 4,664
6
votes
3
answers
640
views
Is it ok if some of my city names are the same as the ones in other books/series/video games/ pieces of work?
My book has a few place names that are also present in other pieces of media, for example, one of my cities is called "Manalin" and I just found out that there is a planet in Star Wars also called ...
- 61
2
votes
1
answer
217
views
Mafia name usage in writing
Is it safe to include names of mafia organizations in your fiction or will they read your work and come after you?
- 21
3
votes
2
answers
306
views
Can I reference something used in another medium, like names, play titles, or song titles?
I'm having a hard time finding information on this so let me explain the idea:
I'm writing a story that takes place in a small town high school in 1986. And I want to give the characters all nicknames ...
6
votes
2
answers
958
views
Can I use the name of an already-existent band for my fictional one?
I made up a fictional band for a story and called it Enceladus, only to discover that there is already a real band with the same name (not a very well-known band). Could I still use the name without ...
6
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Using names of video game, movie, and comic book characters and group names in novel, but as tribute to them
I'm planning on writing about a merc group in the not-so-far future that is named and uses nicknames in honor of the group and characters from NAMCO's PSX game Tales of Destiny.
Is that allowed if I ...
- 71
1
vote
6
answers
582
views
There's an actor with my lead character's name - how big a problem is this going to be?
I began work A Long Time Ago(tm) on this particular book and only took it up again about eighteen months ago. Back in 2007, I checked around but didn't see anybody of note with the name of my ...
- 13
1
vote
3
answers
148
views
Using the name of fictional characters/series in a different context
I was wondering about if I could use the name of the fictional character Magneto in the scifi book I'm writing. There is no direct connection between the Marvel/DC universe and my book. Instead, I ...
- 11
3
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What are the copyright limitations for adopting a fictional character's name as your Pen Name?
I wanted to use 'Dumbledore' as a part of my pen name. But I was told that by doing so I might, I just might subject myself to suing by J.K. Rowling (if she intends to).
Is that true? Can't I use ...
- 131
9
votes
3
answers
387
views
Is it legal to name a character in a story after a disguised trademark?
I'm writing a sci-fi book series. As a true nerd, I want to use some characters to "do homage" to famous scientists, acronyms for experimental methods, and (here's the question) trademarked ...
- 3,579
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Legal issue of naming a character after a song character
Legally can you name characters after songs (poems, etc.) so long as those characters don't purport to affiliated w/ the song or the song writer/author?
A similar question here asks the opposite ...
- 113
23
votes
2
answers
23k
views
Are Names of Characters Copyrighted by Authors?
Are names of characters copyrighted by authors? For example, the character "Eragon" from the Inheritance Cycle series, or a name that you've generated using an online name generator that you'd like to ...
- 3,425