Are brand names allowed in my writing???

The reason I ask is this: a character in the short story I’m writing needs to carry a gun; a ZIGANA T pistol, then later on has to switch to a ZIGANA K pistol. Now am I allowed to mention this pistol in passing?:

Character drew his ZIGANA T pistol from his shoulder holster, thumbed the safety off and pulled the trigger…

Or am I allowed to mention it in detail? – as I would like:

Character took a firm grip on his Turkish ZIGANA T pistol, cocked a 9mm cartridge in the chamber, frantically trying to find the right angle on his target. It’s black, matte body glinted in the morning-sun, and character smiled at its sleek, covert design. The gun barrel, a mere ten centimetres with enough firepower to stop anybody in his or her tracks. Seventeen rounds in the clip. It didn’t matter if he missed. One shot would be enough. Fatal.

Now that’s emphasising a brand/product, which is necessary to the writing, but is it allowed? Would I get into trouble by the Trabzon Arms Industry Corp? And what about the manufacturer of the bullets?

And cigarettes. They’re banned – in terms of advertising – on television, but am I okay to mention them in my writing? The character smokes Consulate’s, but would the British American Tobacco Group be throwing letters at me?

If anyone could help me with this brand issue, I’d appreciate it, as I just don’t know what I’m allowed to include in my fiction.

Best,
Ste

Yes, absolutely. It did no harm to Easton Ellis, in American Psycho, after all. The more specific you make your description, the better.

I don't think there are any legal issues, unless possibly it's directly defamatory - MacDonald's are notoriously litigious.

But I have some reservations about brands in general, which I'm going to bore you with because I'd rather do that than get on with starting my own Chapter Two:

It may not apply to firearms but generally brands date, dreadfully. If you name-check the cool brand of trainers, by the time your novel's published, they'll be uncool. They have a lot in common with slang, in that sense.

Another reservation is that there's a danger of using them as a substitute for characterisation and proper description. Is your narrator in a position where he'd actually think of it as a Zigana T or whatever? If so, fine - I know, say, 'his Kalashnikov' is what anyone in such a story might call it, rather than 'his sub-machine gun' (or whatever it is - I don't do weapons much after a Baker rifle). But if it's instead of really thinking about who's thinking what in a scene and how they'd think it, then that's a poor substitute for imagining it properly and writing it with originality.

Last thought: I really trip over brand names when I simply don't understand their significance, so that I'm reading, thinking, 'whatever you're trying to tell me, I'm not getting it.' Brand names are in a sense technical information - it's like reading a sailing chase when you don't understand the significance of lowering the spinnaker before you luff into the lee: it becomes meaningless, and the chances are I'll get bored and wander off without finishing the book.

Emma

DJC, excuse me while I sip my Pepsi. I'm smelling dollars, here, real, actual 'sponsorship' dollars. No, it's the Pepsi

Emma, good points, and very valid. I don't want to go overkill on the brands. Eugh, I can't stand McDonalds! (go on, sue me - we all know you put salt in the milkshakes).

I guess it's kind of like having pop songs in a film. They don't age very well either.

A Kalashnikov - I'm getting hot under the collar here.

Thanks guys,
Ste