Can I write & sell a guide to another company's software?

June 10, 2023 1:46 PM

Can I write and sell a guide to how to use Gmail or Microsoft Office or an iPhone? I see them at Amazon but I don't know - do I need the company's permission?
posted by cda to Law & Government (5 answers total)

Sure. Why would you need their permission to write about those things? You're allowed to write about whatever you want as long as you're not misusing their intellectual property (copying their manual, plaigurizing etc), you're fine.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 3:21 PM on June 10, 2023 [3 favorites]

get an inexpensive legal consult. are you gonna put the word gmail in the title? the text? use screenshots?
posted by j_curiouser at 5:27 PM on June 10, 2023 [2 favorites]

As long as you make it clear that this is an UNofficial and UNauthorized guide, and not endorsed by the maker.
posted by kschang at 8:03 PM on June 10, 2023

I could see at least two possible problems:
- use of the trademarked name of the product, especially in the title, especially if there any suggestion that the guide might be affiliated with the company that makes the product
- use of screenshots
- making sure that the text was sufficiently different from the user manual (only similar to the extent functionally necessary.

I don't know how other people handle this. You should consult with a lawyer with a specialty in intellectual property, particularly copyrights and trademarks (not patents). These are big companies with paid lawyers on staff. You want to know what your rights are and where the safe harbors are before you do something like this.
posted by metahawk at 10:23 PM on June 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yes, you can. Look at the David Sparks field guides as an example. He is also a lawyer.
posted by michaelh at 4:57 PM on June 11, 2023