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  • using company trademarks in titles and synopses confusion!
    by misssaigon at 12:03 on 24 October 2004
    hi

    i'm currently writing a guide book about, you've guessed it, saigon. i have two queries - can anyone help?

    1. i'd like to use the 'lonely planet' trademark in my title. is this illegal? and if i stick with the title just to send to publishers, will it look like i haven't done my research if i'm NOT allowed to use it?

    2. synopsis - i've been reading an american book about 'how to write a proposal' but i'm wondering if the material that i submit to UK publishers and agents should be different? this book recommends sending: a synopsis, chapter outline, markets, promotion, competition and biog. however, when UK publishers and agents say 'synopses welcome', does this mean ONLY the synopsis without the other parts?

    please help! cheers...
  • Re: using company trademarks in titles and synopses confusion!
    by Dee at 13:11 on 24 October 2004
    Hi… in answer to your first question, it’s pretty obvious that you haven’t done you research. A two minute trawl through LP’s website produced this:

    Our brand is our most important asset, because it lets you recognize us and the quality of our products. It includes our name and logo and various other trademarks,
    ~~~~~
    Using another business's trademark without permission is against the law for a reason. The trademark is valuable because it distinguishes the business's goods and services from others and confers certain rights. Any non-sanctioned use of a company's trademark, however innocent, lessens the company's control of it. In most countries the Lonely Planet brand is well-known and respected - even famous - and not surprisingly, we'd like to keep it that way.
    ~~~~~
    We consider any unauthorized use of our trademark, including in a domain name, as a misappropriation of our name and reputation.


    So, I’d say that, if you want to use LP in your title, you MUST get official authorisation before submitting your proposal. Otherwise it would almost amount to fraud if you led agents to believe you had the backing of such a well-known series.

    Hope this helps and welcome to WW.

    Dee.


    <Added>

    Sorry! I didn't mean this to sound so tetchy!

    :)
  • Re: using company trademarks in titles and synopses confusion!
    by Account Closed at 18:03 on 26 October 2004
    Yes, it is imperative that you always ask. In William Sutcliffe's 'Are You Experienced?' he subtly refferred to LP as 'the Book'. There are ways around it. Though if you ask, they may be ok about it, seeing as it is fiction. Most companies would worry about being misrepresented. In the aforementioned book 'LP' doesn't get much of a good time.

    Recently, I had to contact Ricky Lake's agents to ask permission to use a quote from her show in my novel. My publisher and I were both horrified when they said this was ok, even though the contaxt was cynical - but we'd have to pay Sony Pictures 700 odd dollars.

    Yeah, like they need the money. But be prepared for corporations wanting part of your pie. It's what they do best, after all. Ask yourself how important it is to promote someone elses business in your fiction. How much product placement the world can take. Then go and read 'No Logo' by Naomi Klein.

    JB