Is it legal to mention the name of a famous person inside a story?
 

Is it legal to mention the name of a famous person inside an invented story (mentioning that it is a fictitious situation and without images/videos)?

I mean for example writing an erotic story with Tom Hanks. :1orglaugh

Your favorite sex hero?)

if it picks up traffic and comes to the knowledge of their lawyers or reps then you might get a cease and desist -
but at the same time; you c ould always state that same stuff they put in disclaimers on movies or shows about characters that seem similar to real people are ficticious blah blah

Ok, but I would like to use the real name...

Is the fiction side obvious ?
Is it defamatory or insulting ?
Is the person alive ?

What did the 3 bears really do?

1) Yes, the fiction side is obvious (specified before and during the story).
2) Being sexual topics... it depends on the personal sensibility, I think...
3) Yes...

It seems to me it shouldn't be a problem if you disclaim responsibility beforehand. Small print, between the lines :)

plenty of people have the same name as others :)

The legal advice given in this thread is a joke.

If your product will only work if you use his name then that's not a good sign.

Here is an actual case of a porn parody of "50 shades of grey" :

Universal Settles ‘Fifty Shades’ Porn Parody Lawsuit
Smash Pictures won't argue that their film is a protected spoof nor that the original books are not copyrighted; Instead, the company has decided to pay up.
For those looking forward to a lawsuit over a porn version of Fifty Shades of Grey, here’s a downer.

Universal Studios has completed a settlement with the makers of Fifty Shades of Grey: A XXX Adaptation. According to a court filing, Smash Pictures will make a payment of a confidential sum to make the lawsuit go away and also will consent to a permanent injunction that will prohibit the distribution of the XXX Adaptation.

Universal and its Focus Features division spent $5 million in March 2012 to acquire rights to make Fifty Shades of Grey movies based upon E L James‘ series of novels about a literature student who meets a young billionaire entrepreneur and the erotic passions and bondage they have together.

Smash Pictures and James Lane (aka Jim Powers) thought the story was a natural adult movie, so they made one. Smash exec Stuart Wall told a newspaper, “Since they are going to make a mainstream [film] of the books too, dabbling in the adult world, we’re choosing to go with a XXX adaption which will stay very true to the book and its S&M-themed romance.”

Slapping a “parody” tag onto the title wasn’t enough to keep Universal from protecting its rights. Along with Fifty Shades Ltd., the copyright owner of the original material, a lawsuit was filed in November that called the XXX Adaptation a “willful attempt to capitalize on the reputation of the book.”

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bu...s-porn-427304/


:2 cents:

What about a webcam model's username?

Even if you do shots lines and party all night the moment you defame it is defamation.

Not that Tom Hanks, my goodness! :winkwink:

Yes, legally you are allowed to write whatever you want however, that does not mean you wont get sued :2 cents:

It also depends in what context to use the name.

Generally, copyright law uses four principles: purpose and character (educational and reviewing often are exempt), nature of the copyrighted work (spoofs or parodies can be acceptable), the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effects upon the potential market.

Just a name is fairly safe, unless the fictional character really resembles the real Tom Hanks. If your depiction is very clearly disrespectful, and you're a person of wealth, then a celebrity may decide to sick their lawyers on you for slander or defamation. Like many things, it depends on the size of your audience. They're not going to come after you for anything under like 100,000.