I suspect there are no unique names. When you come up with a name for a character in your story, have you then heard from a real individual who says "that's my name." If so, were they pleased, displeased or indifferent?
Same thing goes for a company name. You come up with a "unique" name for a fictional company, only to have someone say, "that's the name of my company"?
No, but recently there was a news story where someone murdered women named Kara and Jessica, the main female characters in my AWLL series.
It happened twice so far that I got story takedown requests due to the name of a character matching the requesters name. One was fairly rare name and said that he suffered professionally as he was a lawyer and the first search result when potential clients got when they googled him was a bdsm story here.
did you take them down or did you tell them to pound sand?
I tried contacting the author, but he was long gone.
So I changed the spelling of the one instance of the last name in the story keeping the same pronunciation (changing an 'f' to a 'ph'). That was enough for his name not to be found by search engines on SOL.
The other guy, I told him to go away.
One was fairly rare name and said that he suffered professionally as he was a lawyer and the first search result when potential clients got when they googled him was a bdsm story here.
Since I have done internet advertising in the past, when I was a contractor in Indiana, and I do it now as a Realtor (tm), I'm just thinking that guy must have a LOUSY internet ranking.
I appear to have inadvertently given one of my characters the same name as a somewhat notable podcaster/vlogger/internet celebrity (who I'd never heard of, naturally). Oh well - it happens.
have you then heard from a real individual who says "that's my name."
I was once told the character was the person's boss's name.
I have started using the names of those that comment on my stories in my stories, to see if that increases feedback.
So far, no-one's commentated about it (or noticed!) LOL
I have used the, slightly disguised, names of some of the luminaries who post on this forum in my series Poacher's Progress. No one has complained, possibly because no one who posts on this forum has ever read Poacher's Progress --- and who can blame them?
Baen books had a tradition of each new author red shirting Joe Buckley in a new and imaginative way. They even published an anthology of his deaths. Joe was apparently an 'out spoken' commentator on their forums.
Niven & Pournelle did the same with members of their SciFi fandom.
I usually do searches on the names of my major characters. I once chose a rather unlikely name for a green-eyed red-haired woman without looking it up. I did a subsequent search and found one person by that name on Facebook - a green-eyed red-haired woman! However she was about to be married so her name's probably changed. ;-)
AJ
Here's my disclaimer:
NOTE: Any names and/or other similarities between people, living, dead, or fictional are purely coincidental (maybe)
NOTE: Any names and/or other similarities between people, living, dead, or fictional are purely coincidental (maybe)
I have a slightly different take on it. What I've done in the past is even more important with my latest novel since it's historical fiction. I use real characters, like General Clark who headed the Mediterranean Campaign in WW2 at the time of the story. I also use real events like the 1948 general election in Italy. But my disclaimer is:
"This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously."
Note the "or are used fictitiously."
But my disclaimer is:
I wouldn't worry, as the latest trend in non-fiction history (now already quite old) is to wholly invent virtually ALL the dialogue, making a wide variety of bestselling history utterly fictional. They might note the correct dates, and reference actual people (like you), but they're inserting their own voices for his.
It appears to me, that some trouble could be avoided simply by searching for the proposed name prior to using it. Any return that included a lawyer, politician, vlogger etc being grounds to toss the name and use another. It's not like there is a shortage of names.
I likely should have done that. That said, there's really no possibility of confusion, given that my character is sixteen before the person whose name they share was born.
At some point in the not-too-distant future I'll be introducing (by their real name) a fictionalized version of a real-world person who's fairly notable today. It is a do-over, after all. I don't expect anyone to believe for a moment that the real person is the person who appears in my story.
Could be an alternative-universe version of them, though, since my story is set in a universe that's almost ours. A quick look at some high school yearbooks would prove that...
Expecting authors to do that is insidious and violates a long-standing tradition of free speech. William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain, George Orwell and other authors who satirised real life didn't even have the capability of checking for matching names.
Besides, what if your name is Orlando Petitpois and you get your law degree then qualify as a solicitor/Lawyer then you find Orlando Petitpois is the name of a character in a twenty year old porn novel? You can't expect the author to go back and change the name even if they can be contacted.
Every day legal professionals see first hand how unfair life is. They need to grow a pair.
AJ
Every day legal professionals see first hand how unfair life is.
The first of the Facts of Life from Lazlo Zalezac. How true.
I remember there was a TV show called America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988–2013) and at the end of every episode they would have a special BE ON THE LOOK OUT for a criminal typically on the FBI list but not always and one of the criminals shared the same name and height as myself which caused my friends, family, and co-workers to have a lot of fun. Some where some how names are always going to match someone and that is the main reason movies put the little disclaimer
"The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred."
which I find really funny when the movie is about or based on a person of history.
I used to use a disclaimer that said any name of a real person was a coincidence OR the name of a public person used publicly.
In Honey Bee, lots of girls/women are mentioned to style their hair "Like Mrs. Kennedy." That identifies the period for anyone who was there.
In 2 ways.
1) I got an e-mail from a friend of a couple who had several coincidences with a story. They thought I had been spying on them. I responded by pointing out how many stories I had written with different characters; If I changed, I would explain why, and that might reveal more about their situation rtan the story did.
2) used to float drafts of stories in The Fish Tank. Twice, I got responses, "Why did you name a character after this famous person?" Once I had never heardd of that singer. I renamed the character. Nmes aren't particularly impotant to me.
"Why did you name a character after this famous person?"
I used to google "Switch Blayde" to see if my stories were popping up elsewhere. One day I got results for a band by that name. This is years after I was using the pen name.
Coincidence? Or did they read my stories and like my name?
Coincidence? Or did they read my stories and like my name?
Probably not.
That's a notorious issue with trademark. When you apply for a trademark, there are national trademarks, international trademarks and individual state trademarks. Usually, when corporations launch a trademark, they eventually learn of duplicate, preexisting trademarks for the same product name, established years or decades before.
Just because two people have the same name, doesn't mean anyone 'stole' anything from you, it just means they both thought of the same name.
Just because two people have the same name, doesn't mean anyone 'stole' anything from you, it just means they both thought of the same name.
There are also trademarked sounds - the sound made by a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the sound of the NBC chimes, the Tarzan yell from the old Tarzan radio program.
There are also trademarked sounds - the sound made by a Harley-Davidson motorcycle,
I have to ask. Which one?
Presumably a specific model with a specific exhaust system and tuned just so. Also, is that sound when the engine is idling or at what exact RPM?.
All of those things made the sound change.
:)
ETA
Never mind, you were incorrect. Harley D attempted to trademark the sound of their V Twin but failed.
The sounds of parts falling off as your rode ... :)
MY parts do NOT fall off as I ride..!!! (Clothes yes, parts never)
:)