Every writer strives for authenticity, even in fantasy writing. It's important to create real, relatable characters that readers can connect with as they move through the story. And what's more relatable than the famous celebrities who populate the real world? There are some names that everyone's heard of, and in creating a believable character you might want to throw some of these celebs into your story. Whether it's a casual mention or something more, there's some important stuff you need to know before you use a celebrity name...like the fact that you might get sued for doing it. Using celebrity names is tricky, so you might want to think twice before you put them in your self-published book.
The Line Between Fiction and Reality
In creating a character that feels real, many writers use real settings for their stories. You might move your characters around on a university campus that genuinely exists, take them to a park you yourself have visited, have them eating foods that you've enjoyed in the past. Little details like this make characters jump off the page and become more like real people.
And sometimes, you might have occasion to insert real people into your fiction. Suppose your character is into politics, a big-time sports fan, or loves a certain television show. Maybe they go on a date to a popular movie, or have a crush on a well-known movie star or musician. These details do great things for a book's authenticity, but they can do bad things to you as a writer.
Celebrities in Fiction
Celebrities appear in causal real-world conversations all the time, but when you put those names in print everything changes. Newspapers, television shows and people who publicly mention celebrity names do so with caution, and as a fiction writer you should, too.
But it's fiction! Isn't it okay to use the names of public figures in fiction, since you're only trying to tell a story? No, sometimes it's not.
More and more courts are recognizing that celebrities are also self-made brands, and in some legal cases the court has sided with the celebrity. In other words, if the celebrity doesn't like the way they're being portrayed even in a fiction work, they may sue and the court may side with them. Celebrities and public figures may sue if their name is used; they may sue even if their name is not used but the character in question very strongly reflects the actual celebrity. One celebrity who was accused of theft, and won't be named here, sued a highly popular TV show because her name was casually mentioned between the characters on the show. There are countless examples of fiction works and projects that had to be changed because of lawsuits. So you have to be very careful when you start dropping celebrity names even in a work of fiction.
Even when the work is complimentary, celebrities have the power to file a lawsuit because they did not give their permission for their name and likeness to be used. You may think you're safe because you have only kind things to say about the celeb in question, but you never know how that person might react. A casual reference is probably pretty safe in most circumstances, but the door to lawsuits can be opened with even the smallest mention of a real person.
Can you use celebrity names in fiction? It's your book, and no one's going to stop you -- but no one's going to help you, either, if it all goes south. If you have questions about using a celebrity name or any other brand name, you should absolutely seek legal counsel. Full disclosure: I am not a lawyer, and I have no training in the law. So don't take my word for it -- talk to your own lawyer and check it out yourself before you put yourself in any legal danger.
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This is a really interesting post. I never thought about the use of celebrity names, and while it seems it's not technically illegal to use them you raise some good points to keep in mind.
ReplyDeleteDead celebs I know are another matter - there is a series of mystery stories featuring Marlene Dietrich and others. My question is about the name of the book and the cover art - I'm not sure how they use a dead celebrity's name and image on a book cover, though I've seen it.
DeleteSomeone in my writers group just asked about this. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is that, as in most copyright law, it's irrelevant whether or not it's legal. A celebrity has the money to take you to court, and you, fledgling writer that you are, do not have such resources. It is illegal to use a celebrity's copyrighted name (go ahead an name your villain Sarah Palin-who recently copyrighted her name-and see what happens). However, even if that were not true, there are countless real-life examples where a person or organization with resources has taken an individual to court and left their life in economic shambles while the wealty party remained relatively unscathed. Err on the side of caution and don't name your character after someone famous.
ReplyDeleteSorry, you can't copyright a name. A copyright is only for works of art.
DeleteThey meant trademark which anyone with $250 can do with a somewhat unique name
Delete"They meant trademark which anyone with $250 can do with a somewhat unique name"--That's not entirely true. A personal name can't be trademarked unless it has a secondary meaning, e.g. association with a product or service. Brad Pitt, as far as I've seen, can't trademark his name because there is no "Brad Pitt Cologne" or similar. Ralph Lauren can trademark his name because it's associated with a brand of clothing and other products.
DeleteThanks for this. I desperately want my characters to appear on the Ellen show in my story, but it will require not only naming her, but having her appear in the book, with lines and interaction and everything. I think I may write and request permission—the worst that can happen is she says no and I have to create a fictional talk show host, right?
ReplyDeleteJaclyn, Please post if you get a response. I would like to know.
DeleteGo ahead and ask. If she's okay with it, you have it in writing. If not, then yes, definitely call it The Alice Show, rename the character's last name also, and write on!
DeleteToo funny, I also am writing a book and wanted to use her for it. I actually have a few interviews I just changed names on and hope that works out okay. Good luck and do post if you get a response...
DeleteThis is very interesting and good to know. It's better to be safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteDoes this perhaps also work for historical names and important places? For example: Your story is about WWII and you use names that made quite an impact during that time. Or your character is going to that university known world wide or their favorite place is a well known museum. Is there a chance you can get into some problems with that or is it safe? What do you guys think?
x)
Great question! I actually wrote an entire post about historical figures in fiction not that long ago. It's here: http://jadevarden.blogspot.com/2014/07/writing-101-historical-figures.html
DeleteThanks to the celeb gossip writers, now we all have one new thing, or another to chew upon about the lives of our favorite stars and personalities.
ReplyDeleteTotally. Thanks, gossip writers!
DeleteHi. I am in the process of writing a novel that involves the breakdown of society in a fictional apocalypse. One of the scenes concerns a well-known grocery store being attacked by looters. I'm aware that general mentions of songs etc in novels are considered to be acceptable, but I wondered if this might be stepping outside of the safe zone....
ReplyDeleteNo I think chains are fair game, as long as you don't impugn the brand name in any way. Looters breaking into a Starbucks or something is fine, as long as you don't say they broke into it because Starbucks sucks.
ReplyDeleteHa! This is funny - I wrote an intro for a friends story about mailmen and I said 'The profession was even given the Hollywood treatment in that Kevin Costner movie no one has seen.' .. I hope Mr. Costner finds it as funny as I did.
DeleteDo you think it would be okay for a character to mention that she likes to read Marvel Comics and play Warhammer?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure mentioning hobbies like that is perfectly fine. WoW, for instance, gets mentioned in popular media all the time.
ReplyDeleteA hard thing about being a celebrity is that people are always nice to you. You're in a conversation and everybody's agreeing with what you're saying - even if you say something totally crazy.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the loss of privacy is difficult to manage as well.
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ReplyDeleteCan I use the name of a deceased actor as the title of a play? No, the play is not about the actor, but he is mentioned in passing.
ReplyDeleteThat's an issue, because the deceased's family own their rights. This means the family could sue you.
DeleteI actually just read an article about this. It depends on which state the person died in. For instance, in CA there are rights after death. In NY there are not.
DeleteAs in "Orson Welles" by Anonymous? If they've been dead less than 50 years, it's a little dicey. However, stories like "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" do exist.
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ReplyDeleteFifty-two year old Gunther Freeman was always being asked if he was related to Morgan Freeman. Gunther not only shared a surname, he also looked a lot like him. Gunther always gave the same answer, "No, I wish I was though. He's definitely one of my favorite celebrities." Gunther always thought it odd that some people just would not believe him and would try to draw him out.
ReplyDeleteThe previous paragraph is the only time I used the name Morgan Freeman and the only time I referred to him in the entire story. I would think that him suing me would not only make him look petty but it would probably escalate the sales of my book.
What do you think?
I would tend to agree, Scott. To that end, James Patterson describes his Alex Cross character as bearing a strong resemblance to Denzel Washington in several books. As far as I know, he has never been sued for it.
ReplyDeleteWhose to say he didn't pay for the rights.
DeleteMorgan Freeman is the actor who played him in the early movies. At least before they mistakenly replaced him with Tyler Perry (Horrid choice in my opinion.)
DeleteThanks Jade. Love your insights and your prose.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Scott!
ReplyDeleteI am writing a novel peppered with cultural references. One of the characters is listening to a punked out version of the Sunny and Cher's song, I've Got You Babe", a favorite movie is mentioned as "The Petrified Forest" staring Bette Davis, there is a long discussion about the writing style of Richard Brautigan, etc. Could this be a problem?
ReplyDeletePop culture references are generally okay as long as you aren't re-using copyrighted material. If you have lyrics from the song in the book, for example, then yes this could be a problem. Mentioning movies and actresses, however, is perfectly acceptable. I'm a big Bette Davis fan.
ReplyDeleteBy and large, discussing another author's work is almost always just fine. James Patterson does this all the time. A lot of his characters are readers. Just make sure you aren't saying anything that can be slanderous. If you were to say that this author is actually a murderer, or that he's a thief, that can be construed as slander. But you CAN call him a no-good hack if that's what you think, because that's an opinion and it's not illegal to be a no-good hack.
Thanks Jade for your reply. I was resigned to the task of having to do a major rewrite. Music is a ongoing theme in my book, so glad to be able to retain something that gives the book a major part of its soul. Song titles are okay, but no lyrics, if I understand you correctly? What about former Presidents? Are they open to criticism for policies they were responsible for?
DeleteYou can't republish song lyrics unless the songs are in the public domain (like "America, the Beautiful" or the "Star-Spangled Banner"), or you have permission from the publisher to do so. Presidents are always open to criticism in cable news, so you're fine there.
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ReplyDeleteThis may be the wrong thread for this, but I've just discovered that one of my lead characters shares the name of a character in a novel by a famous author. The character is not one from anything hugely popular and it came as a shock to find this out, but the author is very well known and very respected. Does this fall into the same realm or am I being silly?
ReplyDeleteWhat you're talking about is a bit of a gray area, Basia. Every author's work goes copyright free 50 years after their death, so technically I can write a book with a character named Huckleberry Finn if I want to. But even living authors don't have a lot of legal leverage if another author is using a character name that the first author made up anyway. If it's an ordinary name, like Mary Hanson, the author can't prove that you plagiarized from them. But since you want all your characters to feel original and fresh, you might want to think about changing it even just a little so that it's not the same as another author's character name.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Jade. I'll go off and cry now ;)
DeleteI want to mention Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh...nothing bad. Also I would like to use some existing blog sites' names...permissible? and I want my character to work at WalMart. If you have the time, I'd love to get your opinion.
ReplyDeleteIf you mention that a character is listening to Hannity on the radio or something of that nature, I don't see where that would be a problem. Mentioning a blog site is also acceptable, but don't forget to consider that things on the Internet can change pretty quickly and those sites may not be relevant or even in existence in a short amount of time. WalMart is an established brand that isn't going anywhere.
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ReplyDeleteGreetings all,
ReplyDeleteMy short story, which I hope to publish this month, includes a scene between a celebrity who died on Sept 11, 2001, and her sister, who is still alive. Would changing the living sister's first name help? Thx.
If they're real people, Rob, you should change both names unless you have permission to print it.
DeleteI really wanted to use a real celebrity that is kidnapped as this is a comedic novel but see that may not be possible. Last thing I want is a lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteWhat about descriptions? Say I wanted to refer to a character as resembling a famous person. Is that taboo or perfectly acceptable?
ReplyDeleteUsing a celeb's appearance is perfectly fine! In fact, James Patterson has written often that his character Alex Cross looks like Denzel Washington.
ReplyDeleteHi Jade, thank you for the info. Further to your comment above, I am in the process of producing a time travel roleplaying game where due to an unfortunate accident every looks like Ringo Starr. They are not him, but both men and women share his basic appearance, this is obviously mentioned quite a lot in the text, but I also have heavily altered images of Mr Starr. What would your take be on this based on what you mention above?
DeleteI want to write a book about an aspiring critic. it would include criticism and praise for a lot of actors and directors in the industry. Will it be a problem?
ReplyDeleteNo. Satire is a first amendment right.
DeleteI'm writing a contemporary story about two people who share a passion for Buster Keaton and his 1920s and '30s movies. I just discovered that I can't use his image on the cover because the Cohen Brothers own the rights, but can I write this story with mentions of him, his past life, and his films? Some are public domain. Buster Keaton died in 1966.
ReplyDeleteHow about referencing characters from a TV show?
ReplyDelete(Specifically, someone in mine finds out demons are real & not believing it, sarcastically asks if Sam & Dean are going to bust through the door.)
After thought... Does this imply that shows like Family guy and all that jazz pay a premium for taking jabs at celebrities and musicians EVERY EPISODE or does that fall under a different code of ethics?
ReplyDeleteIf the celebrity is not named but you have a character that does something similar to what the real celeb did in real life, does that cause a problem?
ReplyDeleteIn my book I have a scene in which several celebrities are portrayed as being another (non-human) race and are watched by members of that race so they are not accidentally revealed. No names are actually used, but a certain pop stars recent behavior is 'exposed'.
What if you use the celebrity first name but change their last night or what if you just describe their features the same as the celebrity,but have different names.
ReplyDeleteIf I wanted to mention a band name or a song name, as in what my character is listening to or what kind of music she likes, would that be okay or no?
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ReplyDeleteI want to use a NASCAR drivers name as part of a scene where my character becomes a little delusional due to extreme cold, hunger and being alone. He passed in 2000. There would be nothing bad written, of course. Only that she dreams of dating him, and eventually marrying him. Would this be something I need permission for?
ReplyDeletemy protagonist has a dream in which he is engaged in a public debate with a rock star , but he laments that he can't even debate him cos the rock star is so thick. Is this defamatory ?
ReplyDeleteI wrote a short essay about the secret to the incredible success of one incredibly famous person (a kind of esoteric view). I doubt I can use his name. What if I change his name, but so that he is still recognized, is that enough?
ReplyDeletecan you get aaway by "spoofing" a celebrity name?... say, Robbie Downer Jr, perhaps?
ReplyDelete