SPACE COAST WRITERS' GUILD

Topic: Using the name, American Airlines

Allan MacLaren - 2/26/2007 8:59:46 PM In my story, an alligator is shipped via air freight. My protangonist(Matthew) finds out it's on American Airlines. The alligator escapes from the shipping crate at DFW (Dallas-Ft Worth)employees cleared from the ramp during lightning storm). AA flies Matthew to DFW to help in the search. Alligator is found and AA ships him back home. Can I use "American Airlines" (no logo)in this story?

3/5/2007 5:48:54 AM - Susan Blair Why not play it safe and change it to America Airlines?

3/12/2007 4:51:57 PM - Joyce Henderson You can always use a brand name and indicate it is registered or Trade marked by following the name with a trademark symbol. However, some companies are very touchy and liekyl to send you a letter to cease and desist. I would check with a literary lawyer. Or ask your editor. Far easier to just change the name a little or make one up.

3/31/2007 5:27:17 PM - Valerie Allen Much easier to change the name. To avoid legal problems the name must be significantly different from the actual name. American Airlines can be changed to American Aero Lines or Amerilines Airway or USAmerican. Consider the words, spelling, and phonics when creating an alterantive to the real name. You can bet their attorney will explore all of these possibilities!

5/20/2007 8:53:02 AM - Athena Sasso I've heard the cautions about using trademarked names in literary works. I've always wondered why businesses aren't happy for the free press. I'd leave it in and see what your editor does with it (assuming you're going the traditional publishing route). When you write "American Airlines" in book you are only referring to an entity that exists; you are not appropriating the name to use in commerce in order to make money for yourself at American's expense, so I'm a bit confused as to how that would be an infringement. Unless American Airlines was the central focus of your book, or one of its airplanes was the central setting, I wouldn't see how it could claim you were using its name to make money. I found the following information at http://www.chillingeffects.org/trademark/faq.cgi#QID653: ----- Question: What is non-commercial use of a trademark? Is non-commercial use infringment of a trademark? Answer: Non-commercial use of a trademark is generally that use which is not related to the sale of goods or services. If no funds are solicited or earned by using someone else's mark, this use is not normally infringement. Trademark rights protect consumers from purchasing inferior goods because of false labeling. If no goods or services are being offered, or the goods would not be confused with those of the mark owner, or if the term is being used in a literary sense, but not to label or otherwise identify the origin of other goods or services, then the term is not being used commercially. One example of non-commercial use is descriptive use (where the name is used to describe something, such as "He went to MacDonald's for lunch" or "She was wearing the MacDonald tartan.") ------ There are "fair use" exceptions to trademark protection, which cover, amoung other things, use by educational institutions, not-for-profit museums, etc., who are not making money off of a trademarked name/symbol. I think the following from the same website previously cited, although to squarely on point, is instructive: ------ Question: Can I use a trademark in my blog's name or in the title of a blog post? Answer: Yes, if it is relevant to the subject of your discussion and does not confuse people into thinking the trademark holder endorses your content. Courts have found that non-misleading use of trademarks in URLs and domain names of critical websites is fair. (Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. v. Faber, URL http://www.compupix.com/ballysucks; Bosley Medical Institute v. Kremer, domain name www.bosleymedical.com). Companies can get particularly annoyed about these uses because they may make your post appear in search results relating to the company, but that doesn't give them a right to stop you. Sometimes, you might use a trademark without even knowing someone claims it as a trademark. That is permitted as long as you're not making commercial use in the same category of goods or services for which the trademark applies. Anyone can sell diesel fuel even though one company has trademarked DIESEL for jeans. Only holders of "famous" trademarks, like CocaCola, can stop use in all categories, but even they can't block non-commercial uses of their marks. ------ It's important to understand that when American Airlines or any other entity or individual registers a trademark, it applies for registration only in specific categories of goods or services. For instance, Old Navy would probably have registered for use of its name/logo on clothing and for the running of retail stores. Outside of whatever classes of goods or services it applied for, it is not registered. I checked www.uspto.gov for "American Airlines" and found that American Airlines is the holder of various logos and names related to its business; however, the words "American Airlines" had only one registration, which is dead, cancelled, no longer active. I'm not a lawyer, but that would be enough for me to feel comfortable leaving American Airlines in my manuscript.

8/17/2007 6:28:56 PM - Athena I am taking an editing course at the moment, and we just finished the section on copyright. The course material dealt with how to obtain permissions, etc. I asked the instructor how that process applied to using trademarked names in fiction text and here's what she said: "You needn't secure permission to use a trademarked name in a novel. Authors do it all the time. Maybe the owners of the trademark would like everyone to get permission, but it isn't legally required. The next time you're reading a novel, be on the lookout for trademarked names. I think you'll be surprised by how often they're used. They help connect readers to the story because they create an instant familiarity. It's a good device, but only if used sparingly. When it's overused, a book can seem like one endless commercial." The instructor's name is Jacquelyn Landis. According to her bio, she "holds a bachelor's degree and has worked as a nonfiction editor for over 15 years. Her editing repertoire includes books, articles, and business manuals written by best-selling authors such as Eva Shaw, George Carpozi, Anthony Robbins, Ken Druck, and Tom Blair. She has been a speaker in the UCSD Extension program and has participated in writing panels at the University of San Diego. Jacquelyn is also the author of numerous published books and magazine articles." Thought it might apply to this question.

8/25/2007 1:20:27 PM - Bill Allen Thanks, Athena. I agree, as with nearly every other aspect of writing, the rules seem to vary hugely between fiction and non-fiction.

11/4/2007 9:14:40 AM - Allan MacLaren Thank you everyone for your responses. At the Aug SCBWI conference in LA, my critic (Lisa Yee) said use American Airlines. If the publisher has a problem, then change it.