Am I gonna get sued?

August 8, 2005 9:41 AM

What is the legal state of using the names of local businesses, locations, politicians, and "people of import" in a work of fiction?

I'm working on a roleplaying campaign set in my city. Having done a bit of work on it, I've realized that it might actually be worth turning the campaign into a worldbook also, and attempting to sell that.

However, this campaign very much relies on the use of real Philadelphia landmarks to lend it a sense of reality. I'm wondering about the legality of using actual names and locations from my city.

Is it libel if I connect the Trocadero to vampires? Can I say that Mayor John Street is probably an alien imposter? Can I imply that the police department, MOVE, and the Freemasons all report to the owners of AKA Records as part of a conspiracy to pollute our minds with independent music?

This is very specifically fiction. Aside from accepted history, and verifiable facts ("there's a Wendy's on 11th and Walnut"), I do not intend to present any of it as true.

posted by Netzapper to law & government (9 comments total)

Here is a link to a previous discussion, and I believe there is even more coverage elsewhere in the archive.
posted by safetyfork at 9:55 AM on August 8, 2005

Thanks. Sorry for the dup.
posted by Netzapper at 11:16 AM on August 8, 2005

I don't have an answer, but I was born and raised in Philly, and I would love seeing a RPG worldbook based on Philly.

What do you do if your house is on fire in Philadelphia?
MOVE.
posted by Fat Guy at 11:19 AM on August 8, 2005

Truth is a defense.

Given the nature of Mayor Street's hair, I'd say there's a good chance that he is, in fact, an alien imposter.
posted by ph00dz at 12:55 PM on August 8, 2005

I think you're safe. People have got away with more realistic "I'm going to change the names slightly in order to make an obvious attack on a prominent figure without needing facts" so making more fantasy-based accusations should be pretty safe.

I mean, a friend of mine ran a Vampire game (she didn't write any of this out, sadly) in Grand Rapids, MI, where the De Vos and Van Andel families were all vampires (Ventrue, of course) and the Amway Grand Plaza was their Elysium. Now, this isn't exactly flattering, but I can't imagine even Dick De Vos actually complaining "We've been accused of being vampires!"
posted by dagnyscott at 12:56 PM on August 8, 2005

I, for one, would not be at all surprised to learn that ex-Mayor Rizzo was head of a clan of bloodsuckers.

The way that a lot of games get away with this conceit is to alter the truth "just so". In other words, it's not "MOVE", it's "GO". The "Troc(adero)" is the "Croc(odile)".
posted by mkultra at 12:59 PM on August 8, 2005

Hey Netzapper. You actually commented in that linked thread. I thought my memory was bad.
posted by monkeyman at 5:24 PM on August 8, 2005

Wow, monkeyman, I totally suck.

It really didn't trigger the memory for me primarily because the concepts of celebrity and local coffee shop don't seem to line up for me. In other words, while I can see the similarity now, I didn't ever think that a business would work the same way as a person.

I'm really more concerned with local landmarks than with people. I know I can talk about Street, and essentially say whatever I want without any dire effects. I wasn't sure if the same went for the bar on the corner.

But, you're right... my memory is awful.
posted by Netzapper at 7:01 PM on August 8, 2005

Heh. I didn't want to mention that when I linked to the thread for fear that you might think I was "calling you out" or some such thing. Glad to see that didn't happen. :)
posted by safetyfork at 6:35 AM on August 9, 2005