Mentioning Doctor Who in a novel

Dave Sinclair · Post by **Dave Sinclair** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:14 pm

I've written, and hope to self-publish, a novel. In passing, one of the characters refers to the fact that Doctor Who is back and notes that there will be a Christmas special episode. I'm not using the character - just naming him once, as part of a reference to the (real life) fact of his return to British TV. The reference appears in a humorous context and is a one-off. Could my use of the phrase "Doctor Who" in this context constitute copyright infringement? Any advice would be much appreciated. I think it's fair game but would like a second opinion!

Post by **CopyrightAid** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 7:39 pm

As you describe the situation, I really cannot see any problem.

As I understand it, you are not copy/adapting Doctor Who material, you character is simply referencing current events. It sounds fine to me.

Dave Sinclair · Post by **Dave Sinclair** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:07 pm

CopyrightAid wrote:As you describe the situation, I really cannot see any problem.

As I understand it, you are not copy/adapting Doctor Who material, you character is simply referencing current events. It sounds fine to me.

Cheers - many thanks for the speedy response!