Using Real Names of Things...

Yes, I'm limiting my time here. Yes, really. It's just that something I've been wondering about showed up on a billboard in Blogville today. I was just running my quick errands, (scanning the agent blogs) when I came across this title: Product Placement in Books posted by Bookends, LLC.

I have mentioned specific products in my MS: his car, her Frappucino (hmm... wonder where THAT came from?) I never question the use of these things. I assumed that since no one was harmed because the car had a severe manufacturer's defect, or because she never accused Starbucks of product tainting, that I didn't have a problem. After reading this post, I'll assume for now that I'm right.

The thing that had me wondering was names of specific places. My WIP is set in several cities; some I'm familiar with, some not. My BF is a source for some places in NY where my character lives in the present time. In her visit to her hometown area, she reflects comparatively on her neighborhood hangout vs. the restaurant/bar where she is dining with her sister. My BF once asked if I was allowed to use those names. I replied, of course! Why not? Hmm.... Maybe I should have really thought about the question.

It's still a question. The linked post did not address this specific issue. I did, however, leave a comment with my question. Hopefully the author of the post or another commenter will address this issue for me.

FYI... for any newbies out there that just happened to stumble along here: When you leave a comment, (in most cases) there is a box to check to have follow-up comments sent to you via e-mail. I do this when I want to see what others think about a particular topic, or post a question that I hope to see answered.

If you're a literary attorney, or just happen to know the legality of all this, please post a comment for others to read and learn from.