{"id":22646,"date":"2020-02-21T03:00:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T11:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=22646"},"modified":"2020-02-12T06:36:28","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T14:36:28","slug":"can-i-write-about-a-real-person-in-my-book-defamation-right-of-privacy-and-right-of-publicity-in-writing-by-kelley-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/21\/can-i-write-about-a-real-person-in-my-book-defamation-right-of-privacy-and-right-of-publicity-in-writing-by-kelley-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Write About a Real Person in My Book? Defamation, Right of Privacy and Right of Publicity in Writing by Kelley Way"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Can-I-Write-About-a-Real-Person-in-My-Book-Defamation-Right-of-Privacy-and-Right-of-Publicity-in-Writing-by-Kelley-Way.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-22647 size-full\" title=\"Can I Write About a Real Person in My Book? Defamation, Right of Privacy and Right of Publicity in Writing by Kelley Way\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Can-I-Write-About-a-Real-Person-in-My-Book-Defamation-Right-of-Privacy-and-Right-of-Publicity-in-Writing-by-Kelley-Way.png\" alt=\"Can I Write About a Real Person in My Book? Defamation, Right of Privacy and Right of Publicity in Writing by Kelley Way\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Can-I-Write-About-a-Real-Person-in-My-Book-Defamation-Right-of-Privacy-and-Right-of-Publicity-in-Writing-by-Kelley-Way.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Can-I-Write-About-a-Real-Person-in-My-Book-Defamation-Right-of-Privacy-and-Right-of-Publicity-in-Writing-by-Kelley-Way-160x160.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s=Kelley+Way\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kelley Way<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cCan I Write About a Real Person in My Book? Defamation, Right of Privacy and Right of Publicity in Writing.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve recently been asked, \u201cCan I write about a real person in my book?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Write About a Real Person\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>There are several ways this question pops up:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Could you have your fictional character meet a celebrity?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can you use real names in a memoir?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will you get in trouble if you write someone\u2019s biography without permission?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are all excellent questions, and I hope to provide some guidance on the subject.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While writing about real people is not illegal per se, there are some land mines to keep an eye out for in general.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Defamation (a.k.a. libel)\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Defamation (a.k.a. libel) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is the one that springs to mind first for most authors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defamation means that you make a false statement \u2013 in other words, you lied about that person, and that damaged their reputation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Truth is an absolute defense in defamation cases, so if you can prove that what you wrote was truthful, you are golden. If you can\u2019t, you\u2019re probably better off trying to hide the identity of the person so they don\u2019t realize you\u2019re badmouthing them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Right of Privacy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>The right of privacy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is another one that can cause problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are several ways that you can violate a person\u2019s right to privacy \u2013 you could publicize very private and embarrassing facts, you can make offensive, false statements (similar to defamation), and you can commercialize on someone else\u2019s identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Right of Publicity\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That last one was the springboard for <\/span><b>the right of publicity.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are like two sides of a coin \u2013 <\/span><b>appropriation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (using someone\u2019s identity for your advantage) involves thrusting someone into the public eye without their consent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right of publicity doesn\u2019t mind the attention but says that the person has a right to decide where and how to interact with the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While right of publicity is not exclusive to celebrities, they make up the majority of people who sue for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have I depressed you yet?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In California\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s something to brighten your mood \u2013 <\/span><b>in California, books are specifically excluded from right of publicity claims<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, so you can include celebrities in your books (as long as you keep in mind that they could sue you for one of the other claims I\u2019ve talked about).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only time you could get in trouble for right of publicity in writing is if you\u2019re trying to use the celebrity\u2019s name or picture to sell books, or you create a false impression that the celebrity endorses your book.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>For right of privacy claims<\/strong>, written consent will clear the way for most people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you can\u2019t get written consent, you want to make sure there\u2019s nothing the person would object to, or at least that they won\u2019t recognize themselves in your writing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last but certainly not least, defamation and right of privacy don\u2019t survive a person\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>If the person you want to talk about is deceased<\/strong>, then defamation and right of privacy won\u2019t be an issue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Obviously this article only scratches the surface of these issues \u2013 entire books have been written about each one. If you would like to learn more about any of these legal land mines, or if you would like to make sure you\u2019re not about to step on one, please feel free to contact me at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:kaway@kawaylaw.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kaway@kawaylaw.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">***<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/07\/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-the-california-consumer-privacy-act-ccpa-by-kelley-way\/kawaylaw.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"kawaylaw.com noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-19891 tc-smart-load-skip tc-smart-loaded\" title=\"Kelley Way\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB-240x300.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB-640x800.jpg 640w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB.jpg 700w\" alt=\"Kelley Way\" width=\"150\" height=\"188\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kelley Way was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English, followed by a Juris Doctorate. Kelley is a member of the California Bar, and an aspiring writer of young adult fantasy novels. More information at <a href=\"http:\/\/kawaylaw.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">kawaylaw.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you write fiction, you probably want to know if you can write about a real person. Some things to consider are defamation, right of privacy and right of publicity in your writing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":22647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1543,934,988,4171,4175,4250,4251],"class_list":["post-22646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-tips","tag-defamation","tag-kelley-way","tag-literary-law","tag-right-of-privacy","tag-right-of-publicity","tag-writing-about-real-people","tag-written-consent"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can I Write About a Real Person in My Book? 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