Use of brand names in fiction

[RIF]

Hello, I’m a new user. Are there any copyright or similar legal issues around mentioning brands in a work of satirical fiction? My novel mentions many brands in use over the 1990s/2000s - eg the brand of cigarette a character is smoking. It also uses well known brands in invented scenes: eg a people objecting to a branch of Waitrose or Macdonalds opening in a fictitious suburb. It’s intended as gentle satire. Are there any problems with this? Thanks for any help.

[AndyJ]

Hi RIF and welcome,

There are no copyright implications in what you want to do. The area of law which might be involved is trade mark law. However since you are not advertising or selling goods through you work of fiction, trade mark law doesn't come into play. To engage trade mark protection the offendeding use has to be 'in the course of trade', and fiction, and especially satire, doesn't begin to come close to meeting that criterion.
And even if you were exceedingly disparaging about a real brand in you satire, there are no grounds for a defamation claim either, because your readers will be in no doubt that this is fiction.

[RIF]

Thank you this is very reassuring. As well as mentioning well known brands in passing ( eg using a Mont Blanc pen) I have a couple of short scenes that take place in a (fictional) branch of Waitrose which if anything make gentle fun of the customers not the store. I assume from your reply that I can keep these in safely?

[AndyJ]

Yes that all sounds fine and well within the law.

[RIF]

Thanks again - very helpful forum.

[hyper]

Hi RIF and welcome,

There are no copyright implications in what you want to do. The area of law which might be involved is trade mark law. However since you are not advertising or selling goods through you work of fiction, trade mark law doesn't come into play. To engage trade mark protection the offendeding use has to be 'in the course of trade', and fiction, and especially satire, doesn't begin to come close to meeting that criterion.
And even if you were exceedingly disparaging about a real brand in you satire, there are no grounds for a defamation claim either, because your readers will be in no doubt that this is fiction.

Hi AndyJ

I'm also a new user.

In my new satirical novel, set a few years into the future, I write about a big high street brand closing down. From your excellent comments above, I guess it's not a problem?

Also, I'm somewhat derogatory to the brands marketing team. Is this a step too far?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[AndyJ]

Hi hyper and welcome,

Fiction is a fairly forgiving medium so I don't think you face any problems. Furthermore, a company (as opposed to a living individual) can only be defamed if they suffer serious financial loss as a result of the alleged libel (see Section 1(2) of the Defamation Act 2013). Obviously a company which has ceased trading cannot suffer financial loss. So really, the only possibility I could foresee in which you might run into trouble would be if a specific former employee felt they were being identified, thinly disguised as one of your fictional characters, and took offence. However this seems a pretty remote possibility.