Reference to real characters

Heeeey, kind humans!
I’m new to the community (at least as an author) and I’ve heard two versions on the same subject but maybe someone can tell me which one is right.

Can I or cannot I refer to real characters like the pink panther, the Maya bee or Voldemort?

Thank you, xx

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I see no problem with it but some might… (copyright, no permission etc…)

just my opinion tho,

I know I can’t mention celebrities, my doubts are just those because they are fiction… but I don’t know (they are very specific cases) :grimacing: :grimacing:

You can not use real people in your story as characters or major plot points. That’s subject to copyright.
I think if you referenced someone as a fact, that should be fine.

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What @Matilda_the_lovely said. You CAN mention them like:

CHARACTER1

Omg your ponytail is so cute!

MC 

Yes I know right I look just like **Ariana Grande!** 

but you cant have them as a character (not even as an extra)

Thats why most people even refer to social media as:

Instagram = Epigram (or something along that, for copyright reasons)

hope this helped!

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Yea. But to be safe, many switch it out, ex. Ariane Grande. You get the reference without the hassle.

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So, I think it’s okay if I use it like:

CHARACTER
Did I lost my nose? Do I look like Voldemort?

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Yeah, I don’t want to mention celebrities, just fictional characters from books :blush: :blush:

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Yes i think so but what @Matilda_the_lovely said, many switch it out JUST to be safe you can risk it, but if you wanna stay safe try like:

Voldmort (or something similar to that)

(just to be clear i dont think you’ll get copyrighted for using Voldemort as a reference but you can stay safe if you wish)

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Same

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Doesn’t matter. Fictional or real life characters.

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i mean who said harry potter isn’t real? :crazy_face: jkjk

but she’s right fictional characters matter just as much

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Actually that’s a good idea (in the Voldemort case) :sweat_smile: :sweat_smile:

Maya, the bee and the Pink Panther (maybe Pinky Panther?) I don’t know how I can change :woman_facepalming:t2:, oh well, they will let me know if I can’t (it’s just one time tho).

Thank you both for your help! :smile: :smile: @Matilda_the_lovely

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no problem! :blob_hearts: