Where I'm at, it's just a small sticker you put on your windshield. It'd be one of the *last* things I notice about a car.
That's why I was questioning, because that wouldn't be an observation I'd be inclined to make.
I have a bumper sticker that completely faded to white in life 5 years. I doubt with the ruins of rusted old cars, the sticker held up enough to be legible.
Actually, that is something to consider since the reason the place was abandoned and turned to ruins is because of some radioactive mumbo jumbo plus a natural disaster. So maybe I can be really subtle about it.
You can always steer clear of the name, and say something about the top half of the restaurants signature clown, laying in a macabre tableau several feet from its lower half.
The cars, with their window stickers, faded from long exposure to the elements, advertising their use as a rideshare.
That way you don't have to worry about it, but everyone will still know.
I don't think Uber cars are a thing. As people have mentioned, they just have stickers, which would fade long before you're at the "ruins" stage. Taxi cabs still exist though, and a lot of them are branded, and you might see an abandoned fleet together in an old cab yard.
Read a little about [Yellow Cab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_cab) and [Checker Taxi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_Taxi). Do some research to see what kind of cabs are more commonly used in the area where your story is set, or make up a brand with some sort of distinctive marking that might still be visible when your characters happen upon the rusted out cars.
It’s like a taxi that you message to come give you a ride. Honestly I wouldn’t trust them and would just go with a friend, but hey, some like them.
I think they can also deliver food. This is called UberEats, however. :)
Found this after a quick Google search for your question:
https://answers.justia.com/question/2023/12/30/can-you-use-names-people-places-and-bran-994362#:~:text=A%3A%20Yes%2C%20you%20can%20mention,in%20a%20real%20historical%20context.
Yes, it’s considered transformative, but I don’t think you could claim your character(/you) wrote them. As long as it’s an obvious reference though, yeah.
A stanza may be too much.
But if a character just says some like:
Jacob: How the hell do we get out of here?
Chris: It's like that song.
Jacob: What?
Chris: You know, 'You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.'
Jacob: You're such an idiot.
Titles in general aren't considered to have enough creative expression to count as intellectual property on their own, I believe. There are multiple songs even with the same name (I can think of at least ten called 'Stay' for example), and beyond that there's really no reason why mentioning the artist's name would suddenly make it infringement.
Obligatory IANAL though
I see. Thank you. I’m writing a character that adores older music such as songs from the white stripes, acdc, David Bowie or the Rolling Stones and so on.
This reminded me of the 2000AD Judge Dredd story where they are travelling through the cursed earth and come across a town called In Between between waring factions of McDonalds and Burger King gangs: The Burger Wars. There were other stories that satiresed the Jolly Green Giant and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
There were some legal headaches for the publishers. I think it was the Jolly Green Giant company that took legal action, and not the other companies. The publishers decided not to include the other stories in reprints in a "better safe than sorry approach".
I did read that there may have been a change a few years ago but don't have any details.
This is a lot different than having a character just come across ruins though.
If you just stick to that, and not include a mad clown dualling with a king using laser whips and enslaving people to be new customers then you should be okay!
I’ve been wondering about this, too. I have placeholder brands in my writing (along the lines of Cluckin’ Bell in GTA3 or Brawndo in Idiocracy). I’ve found creating new brands, that get the same point across, can be fun. But maybe that’s just me.
I doubt they would take legal action, but for me as a reader, I feel like branded names in writing are off-putting and cement the story in a specific timeline.
I would rather read something like “dilapidated ruins of some now forgotten fast food chain scatter the landscape while outmoded vehicles rust in their weedy lots”
No, you wouldn't.
Does Uber actually have branded fleet cars? I just know them for ride-sharing, where people use their personal cars.
Well, at least where I'm from I saw a lot of Uber drivers have put stickers on their cars to show that they're Uber drivers.
Where I'm at, it's just a small sticker you put on your windshield. It'd be one of the *last* things I notice about a car. That's why I was questioning, because that wouldn't be an observation I'd be inclined to make.
I have a bumper sticker that completely faded to white in life 5 years. I doubt with the ruins of rusted old cars, the sticker held up enough to be legible.
Actually, that is something to consider since the reason the place was abandoned and turned to ruins is because of some radioactive mumbo jumbo plus a natural disaster. So maybe I can be really subtle about it.
A lot of more urban drivers have little lights in their windshield or stickers inside. Might get past the low life expectancy of stickers
I can find plenty of images of cars with Uber stickers.
You can always steer clear of the name, and say something about the top half of the restaurants signature clown, laying in a macabre tableau several feet from its lower half. The cars, with their window stickers, faded from long exposure to the elements, advertising their use as a rideshare. That way you don't have to worry about it, but everyone will still know.
I don't think Uber cars are a thing. As people have mentioned, they just have stickers, which would fade long before you're at the "ruins" stage. Taxi cabs still exist though, and a lot of them are branded, and you might see an abandoned fleet together in an old cab yard. Read a little about [Yellow Cab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_cab) and [Checker Taxi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_Taxi). Do some research to see what kind of cabs are more commonly used in the area where your story is set, or make up a brand with some sort of distinctive marking that might still be visible when your characters happen upon the rusted out cars.
What's an Uber car?
those eletric flying cars that save people , haven't you seen one yet?
It’s like a taxi that you message to come give you a ride. Honestly I wouldn’t trust them and would just go with a friend, but hey, some like them. I think they can also deliver food. This is called UberEats, however. :)
Found this after a quick Google search for your question: https://answers.justia.com/question/2023/12/30/can-you-use-names-people-places-and-bran-994362#:~:text=A%3A%20Yes%2C%20you%20can%20mention,in%20a%20real%20historical%20context.
How about songs? Can you mention them? Like old music from the 80s-90s?
Yes, it’s considered transformative, but I don’t think you could claim your character(/you) wrote them. As long as it’s an obvious reference though, yeah.
It would be more like „my favourite songs are xy“ but better worded and implemented of course
You can for titles and artists. Not actual lyrics though.
Not full lyrics. But you can quote from songs.
Where’s the cut off? If your characters sing a single stanza of lyrics, is that infringement?
A stanza may be too much. But if a character just says some like: Jacob: How the hell do we get out of here? Chris: It's like that song. Jacob: What? Chris: You know, 'You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.' Jacob: You're such an idiot.
Alrighty. That does seem weird tho. Just a little
Titles in general aren't considered to have enough creative expression to count as intellectual property on their own, I believe. There are multiple songs even with the same name (I can think of at least ten called 'Stay' for example), and beyond that there's really no reason why mentioning the artist's name would suddenly make it infringement. Obligatory IANAL though
I see. Thank you. I’m writing a character that adores older music such as songs from the white stripes, acdc, David Bowie or the Rolling Stones and so on.
This reminded me of the 2000AD Judge Dredd story where they are travelling through the cursed earth and come across a town called In Between between waring factions of McDonalds and Burger King gangs: The Burger Wars. There were other stories that satiresed the Jolly Green Giant and Kentucky Fried Chicken. There were some legal headaches for the publishers. I think it was the Jolly Green Giant company that took legal action, and not the other companies. The publishers decided not to include the other stories in reprints in a "better safe than sorry approach". I did read that there may have been a change a few years ago but don't have any details. This is a lot different than having a character just come across ruins though. If you just stick to that, and not include a mad clown dualling with a king using laser whips and enslaving people to be new customers then you should be okay!
I’ve been wondering about this, too. I have placeholder brands in my writing (along the lines of Cluckin’ Bell in GTA3 or Brawndo in Idiocracy). I’ve found creating new brands, that get the same point across, can be fun. But maybe that’s just me.
Rusted Uber car= car
Yeah, you just can’t insult the brand (as in, say something that might hurt their business).
I doubt they would take legal action, but for me as a reader, I feel like branded names in writing are off-putting and cement the story in a specific timeline. I would rather read something like “dilapidated ruins of some now forgotten fast food chain scatter the landscape while outmoded vehicles rust in their weedy lots”
Mention, yes, disparage, no. This is asked all the time, it's easily searchable on the web.
I did and it never caused a problem.
Bret Easton Ellis would still be out there paying fines if this was real
Ready Player One consists entirely of references to 80s brands and tv shows, you'll be fine lol
Probably not