Using living celebrities in your stories

[Unmentionable]

Inspired by Lovecraft's Imprisoned with the Pharaohs that features Harry Houdini, and after watching a bunch of episodes of River Monsters, I want to do a weird fiction story featuring Jeremy Wade. The thing is, are there any copyright restrictions on doing this? I know there are when it comes to using someone's visual likeness, but what about just a written story?

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Here are some legal guides about this question.

http://www.betternovelproject.com/blog/real-people/


http://www.writehacked.com/writing/fiction-writers-guide-using-real-people-story/

Bottom line: Be very, very careful about this.

It would be perfectly fine to, say, have a character go to a Lady Gaga concert. It would probably not be a good idea to have a character have a love affair with Lady Gaga.

There are always exceptions. Michael Bishop had a story called "With a Little Help From Her Friends" set in a future where the living Beatles and a hologram of John Lennon get together for a concert. (Alas, this story was published way back in 1984, when there were three living Beatles.) It's set in a future where the elderly Ringo Starr lives on the Moon, for example. This used living celebrities, but they were treated in a respectful, even loving way.

Could you ask Wade (or his legal people) for permission to use him in a respectful way?


Here's the full story behind the Houdini thing, by the way. Note that Houdini was involved in the whole thing, no doubt for the publicity. (It was supposedly a "true story.")

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprisoned_with_the_Pharaohs

In my personal opinion, I would probably create a character similar to (but certainly not identical to) Jeremy Wade instead.

 

[Unmentionable]

Thanks for the advice; I didn't know Houdini was involved in the story. I might ask Jeremy on twitter. I generally don't like brutally obvious knock-off characters of real people, as they seem silly and contrived, but I might have to go with that.

 

[The Judge]

I'd echo Victoria's be very, very careful. It's not a question of copyright, but of the potential for defamation (having the famous character do something which would tend to lessen his reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public eg being physically abusive to a disabled child), plus increasingly infringement of rights to exploit one's own image, which isn't limited to physical representations such as photos, and even the invasion of the right to privacy (very strong in France, I understand).

I'd also echo her advice to create your own character, but I'd go further and advise that you deliberately lessen the similarities with the real life Jeremy Wade (or, rather, the televisual-life person, since I imagine like many people his self before the cameras is different from his self in private). In that way the protagonist is wholly your own creation and you can have him do and say things that might otherwise be problematic.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Even not famous people are a problem. A Publisher reprinted a book with character name changed. Search names to make sure it's common or non-existent.

Even dead ones can be an issue if their "estate" is still around. (i.e. L Ron Hubbard).

have a character go to a Lady Gaga concert. It would probably not be a good idea to have a character have a love affair with Lady Gaga

Yes.
Or have your detective investigate V.Putin or S.Blatter might be a bad idea.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

And yet this guy seems to have got away with it. Good book, by the way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_(Harris_novel)

 

[Ray McCarthy]

this guy seems to have got away with it.

So astonishing are the implied allegations of the roman à clef that, had it concerned a lesser figure and were Harris a less eminent novelist, Britain's libel laws might have rendered publication impossible: Harris told The Guardian before publication, "The day this appears a writ might come through the door. But I would doubt it, knowing him."(a) The thriller acquires an added frisson from the fact that Harris was an early and enthusiastic backer of Blair and a donor to New Labour funds.(b)

a) Maybe he had unofficial nod and wink ...
b) Harris was an early and enthusiastic backer of Blair and a donor to New Labour funds.
c) Thinly disguised, but not actually their real names.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

I remember being amazed, when reading it, that Harris hadn't been packed off himself in an orange jumpsuit to Guantanamo Bay.

 

[ralphkern]

Ha, I even ensure that none of my characters share names with people I know - lest they read something into it. (Other than one or two agreed cameos for people who helped out during the creation of the works and naming two of my lead characters after nephews).

Not that I'm generally public with my writing to friends, but I dread someone finding out then using amateurish pop psychology to deduce xyz.

 

[JG Martin]

I use composites or substitute descriptors for the actual name. Like Manley as the last name for a woman I think is mannish. Or Stephen Doors. That's two people. Hint, he (they) is an evil software genius who is trying to take over the world.