Are there copyright issues with this?

JuniorDesigner

I have an idea for a book, it's based on a company/product but I am worried that using it's name in the book will result in copyright issues?

It's just an information book really about this company/product mostly pictures and I really think it could be great.

I was thinking of using a site like Blurb to construct it as i know nothing about putting together a book and getting it published otherwise!

Some help would be great! :money:

InsideInsurance

There are potential IP issues if you are using other organisations brands without their permission to generate yourself income.

Depending on the company in question it could be worth approaching them for permission, some are very reasonable and will give out permission fairly freely, others are more of a pain about these sorts of things and either say no or expect you to cover costs of legals in drawing up contracts etc.

JuniorDesigner

InsideInsurance wrote: »

There are potential IP issues if you are using other organisations brands without their permission to generate yourself income.

Depending on the company in question it could be worth approaching them for permission, some are very reasonable and will give out permission fairly freely, others are more of a pain about these sorts of things and either say no or expect you to cover costs of legals in drawing up contracts etc.

It's not something that sheds the company in a bad light, very much the opposite and could generate more income for them so I have confidence in the fact that they'll be ok with it.

Just made me wonder with so many other books that there are about certain companies whether or not each one probably had to ask for permission!

InsideInsurance

Some will be authorised and some will be unauthorised. Some people arent comfortable taking risks and others constantly live by the seats of their pants.

Whilst I may result in more sales for them they may be more interested in the revenue they can get from you that you are generating from their brands.

JuniorDesigner

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Some will be authorised and some will be unauthorised. Some people arent comfortable taking risks and others constantly live by the seats of their pants.

Whilst I may result in more sales for them they may be more interested in the revenue they can get from you that you are generating from their brands.

Yeah this is true, I will look into it further. Thank you! :money:

pitkin2020

Totally agree with Inside Insurance. Best to get permission in writing to avoid any issues further down the line.

Whilst you may see the book as portraying them in a good light it may not be seen in the same way by the company. Its hard to say without knowing the content obviously but big businesses spend a lot of money on marketing their image so they are portrayed certain ways, your book may have a negative/positive effect on the image they want to portray to the general public.

The other issue as raised above is you will be generating an income off the back of this companies name which they may or may not like. You also have to consider they may not wish for their business to be associated with yourself, again depending on the content and the context in which it is written they may not want their business associated with your views.

I do doubt you will get expressed permission without them seeing a hard copy but I would get in touch with them regarding the idea first, no point going to all the effort of getting it written to find if you publish it they'll sue.

Best of luck

paddyrg

Write the first chapter fully with photos and all, then outline the rest of the book, and approach a publisher that deals with the sector (eg Wrox / For Dummies / focal press / etc). They will deal with the publishing questions if they think there's a market for the book!

ESKIMO

I would like to echo the above comments as it depends entirely on the nature and context in which it is written. If, for example you based the book in a 3rd person narrative, calling upon your personal experiences you can 'pretty much' write to your hearts content. However, i would urge that you approach this on the side of caution. It would be far wiser and more appropriate to do your due diligence first ie;

- check the terms of your employment contract
- have you signed any Confidential Non-Disclosure Agreements (CDA/NDAs) or been privvy to anything of a confidential or sensative nature - this could include and come under the Data Protection Act 1998. For example you wouldn't want to disclose any private client, customer or consumer data that wasn't already made publicly available would you?
- you should also make appropriate checks regarding photos that you may wish to include - do you, or would you have permission to do this? Mostly along the lines of security concerns. Imagine if you worked at a branch of a bank or building society and filmed you and all your buddies rolling around in cash inside the vault and then posted it on YouTube! Eek (In uniform and with name badges!!!)
- also think about others, how would they feel about their face/picture being published in a book (warts and all!) many may not be 'photogenic'

As far as IP is concerned; if you were to 'trade' or 'pass-off' as the company in question you could get yourself into a whole lot of trouble, so it would be wise to state your books 'intentions' from the get-go, like 'The apple of My Eye' - if for example you worked for 'apple' and you were cautious not to use their logo (without permission). Hope that helps.

I'm curious to know who you work for now. Sir James Dyson?

JuniorDesigner

ESKIMO wrote: »

I would like to echo the above comments as it depends entirely on the nature and context in which it is written. If, for example you based the book in a 3rd person narrative, calling upon your personal experiences you can 'pretty much' write to your hearts content. However, i would urge that you approach this on the side of caution. It would be far wiser and more appropriate to do your due diligence first ie;

- check the terms of your employment contract
- have you signed any Confidential Non-Disclosure Agreements (CDA/NDAs) or been privvy to anything of a confidential or sensative nature - this could include and come under the Data Protection Act 1998. For example you wouldn't want to disclose any private client, customer or consumer data that wasn't already made publicly available would you?
- you should also make appropriate checks regarding photos that you may wish to include - do you, or would you have permission to do this? Mostly along the lines of security concerns. Imagine if you worked at a branch of a bank or building society and filmed you and all your buddies rolling around in cash inside the vault and then posted it on YouTube! Eek (In uniform and with name badges!!!)
- also think about others, how would they feel about their face/picture being published in a book (warts and all!) many may not be 'photogenic'

As far as IP is concerned; if you were to 'trade' or 'pass-off' as the company in question you could get yourself into a whole lot of trouble, so it would be wise to state your books 'intentions' from the get-go, like 'The apple of My Eye' - if for example you worked for 'apple' and you were cautious not to use their logo (without permission). Hope that helps.

I'm curious to know who you work for now. Sir James Dyson?

That's great advice thank you!!

It's not a company I work for, not in the slightest, it's based around something I am interested in and have recently found a lot of people interested in it and believe there would be a great gap in the market for a book of this particular nature. (Hence why I haven't named anything about it really )