We had a question recently from a writer who wanted to name a character "Nutella" - is it ok under copyright and trademark laws?
Nutella is a trademark, not a dictionary word. That means it’s a trademark of Ferrero, and nobody else can usually use it to identify, advertise or promote a product or service - unless it’s their last name and the goods/services are very different from a delicious spread - or if they're comparing their goods to Nutella.
However, anyone can use it descriptively - you can have a character buy or eat Nutella, or choose not to buy it and get Vegemite instead, because they don’t like sweets or have a filbert allergy.
If you’re writing a story noncommercially - even if you’re sharing it online or with friends - don’t worry about using the term as a character’s name because you’re not making a commercial use of it - while one can infringe on trademarks by using them in ways other than on goods/services or in commerce, this is generally not one of them.
If your story is going to be published traditionally or as an ebook for sale, the publisher will go through a balancing of its interests in deciding whether they want to take the risk (if any) in using a trademarked term as a character’s name. Since "Nutella" is a real surname it might be a risk they’re willing to take, especially if the character or their ancestry is of the UK’s Midlands.
There's no copyright issue, since nobody can copyright a single word or phrase.
Of course, like all our other answers here, this isn’t legal advice, just our musings on a topic.
ESTÁS LEYENDO
Fandom Is My Fandom
No FicciónEnjoy a collection of essays about fandom and how it intersects with legal issues like copyrights, trademarks, licenses, fan creativity, transformative works so much more - all crossposted from IsFanficLegal on tumblr. Heidi is a US lawyer and has f...
