If you use actual product names or model numbers, what permission or licensing issues are necessary?
Posted by JamieFord (Member # 3112) on :
As long as you're not defaming a brand (someone dying of food poisoning from a Big Mac, for example) I'd go ahead and use the name brands, places, locations, etc. I have a lot of "names" in my book--Honda Civic, Seattle University, Top Gun Sushi, etc. and it wasn't a problem.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Yeah, defamation is probably the only thing that'll get them to try to do something. You might wanna make some name up, or let it be anonymous, if it's frequently used in the course of your work---and if said person-place-or-thing is not a vital part of said work. (I'd think long and hard before writing a roman-a-clef about life-and-work at a particular Burger King, for example.)