All About Britney Spears

Does an author need permission from a designer, music artist or manufactor inorder to mention name in book?

Just wrote a novel and am ready to publish however, a friend of mine told me that I need to delete any famous names used in my novel unless I got permission to use them. Is this true? If so this really puts a dagger in my expected release date (May) how do i go about doing this?

Public Comments

1. yes
2. no
3. yes most deffiantly my mum is an author
4. I don't think you would need to do that. Unless you used them as an active participant in your book or somehow slandered them?
5. Your friend is right; if you use designers' and artists' works without permission, you are infringing on copyright laws. A publisher or agent can help you navigate these legal waters; don't erase everything without consulting him/her first.
6. just in case you are aware of this. i am a writer as well and any information you input in your novel, book if it concerns other people or comes from other people you need their agreement like them saying we don't mind you quoting us. but you can still do it in an anonymous way by metaphorically changing the way they said it but keeping the gist of the point
7. First off >congratulations< I hope your book does well. As to the mention of famous designers etc., its a matter of how you did it. If a charactor happens to like said said designer, artist or manufactor, then its okay for him to use those names. What's not legal without permission is if you are trying to BE said designer, artist or manufactor. Let me know if this is confusing; perhaps I can find some legal documents for you.
8. I honestly don't know, but I've been under the impression that it's ok to use proper names but not company names. Then again, I have heard of people being sued for misrepresenting people in fiction... If you're getting your book published, isn't this something you can ask your publisher? They should know.
9. No, that is not correct. You can refer to anyone, dead or alive. Your only concern is with a non-fiction work: if you print something libelous, they could sue you. If they care to. And do the hard work to find you. And unless you're rich, they won't. And even then, they'd have to prove you said something false in court, and that it was especially harmful. In any case, the publicity would be great for your book sales. (A dark stain on your soul, but hey.) In fantasy work of fiction, you can say anything you want.
10. No. Brand names, famous names, etc, are considered public knowledge. It isn't plagiarism to mention someone's name, as long as you aren't stealing their work and pretending it's yours.