Copyright and use of names

[malcy]

Does an author have to request permission to use names, record titles etc prior to using them in a novel?

[Aschenbach]

No. Breach of copyright requires a substantial part of an original work to be copied. The titles and names will not be 'works' themselves anyway. The Copyright Act 1988 allows people to mention other work for reference purposes - even passages so long as credited.

An action in passing off could arise if the names are being used in a deceptive way.

[Lillabet]

The only time when use of names would be an issue would be if the name was registered as a trademark. Otherwise copyright would apply to creative work / design. So permission would not be needed to mention say a song by name but would be needed to quote the lyrics.

[malcy]

Many thanks