I was wondering if anybody could tell me if I could get in trouble (sued by the company or told to stop printing it) that referenced a specific company by name and spoke about its business model. For instance, if I were writing about the online DVD rental business, is it OK for me to mention Netflix by name withoout getting their permission? What if I talked about their business model only - sending DVD rentals through the mail - and everybody could just figure out that I was talking about them even if I didn't mention them by name? How about if I had a negative opinion about their business model (for instance if I argued it would for some reason hurt the DVD rental market in the long run...this is obviously an absurd argument, but I just used it for the sake of example)? Would Netflix in any of these cases have the right to tell me to stop printing the book or to sue me for mentioning them?

P.S., I know a self published book probably won't sell much and the book would probably be to obscure for Netflix to notice, but for the sake of the question, assume the book became popular and Netflix found out about it.

Thanks

You could give the company a fictional name, but base it entirely on your experience of a real-life one. That's probably the safest way.

Fiction or non-fiction?

I would think that in fiction you would be OK (as long as it's made clear it's a character's opinion and not the author's )

In non-fiction I would think you are on shaky ground. But it depends how specific the business model is. In your example, Netflix is not the only company to send DVD rentals through the post. Therefore you could criticise the general practice rather than the specific company. However if you are using your book as a sounding-off about a company with whom you have personal issues, then you would be treading on thin ice.

Thanks for the replies, by the way...

And, I guess I should have mentioned...it's non-fiction, and unfortunately, the business does have a very specific business model with no similar competitors that I am aware of...

If you're making bad things up about your fictional company, I think they'd have to prove first that everyone assumes your fictional company was them and then believed the bad things were them too. And if what you say is true, then you haven't libelled them and they can't object (which wouldn't mean they wouldn't try, of course!). Also, a negative opinion isn't libel: you have to damage someone's reputation to libel them - i.e., saying So-and-So's dresses are ugly is fine, saying they're badly made might not be libel, saying they're made of nylon but labelled as silk would be.

The Society of Authors could advise, and even if you're not a member they have a guide to libel for a couple of pounds:

http://www.societyofauthors.net/soa/section_page.php4?hp_nav_id=16&urlsection=Publications

Emma

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I see from your last post it's non-fictional, but it still holds that opinions that clearly are opinions aren't libel, nor is the truth. Journalists deal with these issues all the time - the NUJ might have advice too.

Thanks, I'll check that out.

If you have a second for a few other questions....assuming it isn't negative, can they sue me simply because of the fact that I made money off of a book that mentioned them? I wouldn't mention them in the title or anything, just once or twice in the text... For instance, if I were writing about the history and future of DVD rentals, and I simply mentioned "Netflix is a real world example of one of the new breed of DVD rental companies that operate online," could Netflix say I wasn't allowed to use their name in any way, shape, or form since I was selling the book for profit, because it is trademarked and they get to say who mentions them?

And also, in regards to libel, does it have to damage their reputation and be false, or just damage their reputation? For instance, if I said there were rats in a restaurant's kitchen and I could prove there were, I couldn't get in trouble, could I?

Sorry if these questions are silly...thanks again

The best defence against an accusation of libel is that what you said is true. They can't say you libelled them if it's a matter of record - or you can prove - that they did have rats in their kitchen.

I'm not sure about the trademark issue, but I'm fairly sure you'd be in the clear to do that. Trademarks are really to stop some other company from 'passing off' themselves as your company. As far as I know - in the UK, anyway - that doesn't preclude your characters using Sellotape in your novel, only that you can't set up a company selling rolls of sticky tape and calling it Sellotape. Newspapers refer to company names and things like Lycra and Post-It notes all the time, so I can't see that it would be a problem. I know you see the little trademark ® in US stuff, but either that's a different legal regime, or they're paranoid, (or both) in that incredibly litigious climate.

Emma