Last reviewed by Robert Prime, 12 October 2026, against the Trade Marks Act 1994, section 10 and section 11, the Defamation Act 2013, section 1, and Amazon’s metadata guidelines, keywords page and content guidelines. General information, not legal advice.
Quick Answer: Yes. Naming real brands inside your story is normal and, in the UK, generally lawful: trade mark law is aimed at using a brand “in the course of trade” to sell goods or services, not at a character ordering a named coffee. Where you can get into trouble is using the brand to sell your book: in the title, on the cover, in your Amazon keywords, or with real logos. And if you show a named product hurting people when it does not, the company may have a defamation claim.
Table of Contents
- The short answer
- What UK trade mark law actually stops
- The four places brand names cause trouble
- Amazon’s own rules: title and keywords
- Writing a brand in a bad light
- Capitals, ™ and ®
- A quick checklist
- Frequently asked questions
The short answer
Real brands make fiction feel real. Crime novels are full of named cars and phones; romance has named restaurants and shops. UK publishers print these every week. You do not need permission to say your character “drank a can of Irn-Bru” or “drove a battered Volvo”.
What you need is to keep the brand inside the story. The moment the brand starts doing marketing work for your book, you are in a different position.
What UK trade mark law actually stops
Section 10 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 sets out infringement. Every limb of it starts the same way: a person infringes if they use a sign “in the course of trade” and “in relation to goods or services”. In summary:
- s.10(1): an identical sign on identical goods or services.
- s.10(2): an identical or similar sign on identical or similar goods or services, where “there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public”.
- s.10(3): a sign identical or similar to a mark with “a reputation in the United Kingdom”, where the use, “being without due cause, takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the trade mark”.
A character eating a named chocolate bar is the author describing a scene. Our reading is that this is not using the sign in relation to your goods, because you are not selling chocolate, and readers do not think the chocolate maker produced your novel.
Section 11 adds limits. A registered mark is not infringed by “the use of the trade mark for the purpose of identifying or referring to goods or services as those of the proprietor of that trade mark”, provided the use is “in accordance with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters” (s.11(2)(c)). It also protects an individual using their own name, which matters if your pen name happens to match a brand.
The four places brand names cause trouble
1. The title. Murder at Harrods or The Lego Detective puts someone else’s mark on the product you are selling, which is exactly where s.10 looks. It is also where a brand with “a reputation in the United Kingdom” can argue you are taking unfair advantage of it (s.10(3)). And Amazon may refuse the title anyway (see below).
2. The cover. Real logos, packaging, product shots and distinctive get-up on your cover look like endorsement. A logo can also be a copyright work in its own right: the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 counts “a graphic work … irrespective of artistic quality” as an artistic work (s.4), so you need permission to reproduce one whatever trade mark law says. Describe the product in words inside the book; keep it off the cover.
3. Marketing. “For fans of Netflix’s…” in an Amazon ad, a series called “The Starbucks Mysteries”, or merchandise built around a brand all move the brand from story into trade.
4. Suggesting a link that is not there. Your character can work at a real bank. Your back cover should not say the book is “the inside story of” that bank unless it is and you can prove it. Implying sponsorship or approval is where brand owners get interested.
Amazon’s own rules: title and keywords
Even where the law would let you, Amazon may not. These rules are Amazon’s, they apply to every KDP book, and they are stricter than trade mark law.
From KDP’s metadata guidelines, the things prohibited in the title field include:
- “Unauthorized reference to other titles or authors”
- “Unauthorized reference to a trademarked term”
- “References that suggest an individual or entity has contributed to or been involved with your book that has not”
The subtitle “must adhere to the same guidelines as your title.”
KDP’s keywords page lists what to avoid in your seven keywords, including “Brands that you do not own or that you are unauthorized to use” and “Anything misrepresentative like the name of an author not associated with your book.” So the keyword “harry potter” on your wizard-school novel breaks Amazon’s rules regardless of what a court would say.
And the content guidelines put the responsibility on you: “It is the responsibility of authors, publishers, and selling partners to ensure their content doesn’t violate laws or copyright, trademark, brand, privacy, publicity, or other rights.”
Our KDP keyword checker catches the other common keyword mistakes, such as repeating words already in your title.
Writing a brand in a bad light
A character complaining that their phone battery dies is ordinary life. A plot where a named, real baby-food company knowingly poisons children is a different thing.
Companies can sue for defamation in England and Wales, but the bar is set higher for them. Section 1(2) of the Defamation Act 2013: “harm to the reputation of a body that trades for profit is not ‘serious harm’ unless it has caused or is likely to cause the body serious financial loss.” A big brand will rarely be able to show that a novel cost it serious money. But even a claim that fails is expensive to answer, and a small local business is far easier to damage, and far more likely to be identifiable through its owner.
The practical rule most authors follow: when the product or business is the villain, invent one. A fictional supermarket chain costs you nothing and removes the question. The same thinking applies to real people; our guide to using real people in fiction covers that side.
Capitals, ™ and ®
- Capitalise brand names as the owner does: Hoover, iPhone, Sellotape. It is correct style and costs nothing.
- Do not put ™ or ® after brand names in your text. Novels do not, and it reads like an advert.
- A general trademark note on the copyright page is optional. If you want one, our disclaimer templates include a one-line trademark notice.
A quick checklist
- Brand mentioned inside the story only? Fine.
- Brand in your title, subtitle or series name? Change it.
- Brand in your seven KDP keywords? Remove it.
- Real logo, packaging or product photo on the cover? Remove it, or get written permission.
- Named real product or business shown causing harm that it has not caused? Make it fictional.
- Book suggests a brand endorsed or sponsored it when it did not? Rewrite.
If you are thinking of protecting your own series name or author brand, that is the other side of the coin: see KDP Brand Registry and trademarks for UK authors.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need permission to mention a brand in my novel?
Not for an ordinary mention inside the story. Trade mark infringement under the Trade Marks Act 1994 s.10 concerns use “in the course of trade” in relation to goods or services; describing what a character drinks is not selling drinks.
Can I put a brand name in my book title?
Avoid it. It is the riskiest place under trade mark law, and Amazon’s metadata guidelines list “Unauthorized reference to a trademarked term” as prohibited in the title field.
Can I use a brand name as an Amazon keyword?
No, unless you own it or are authorised to use it. KDP’s keywords page says to avoid “Brands that you do not own or that you are unauthorized to use”.
Can I mention a real song, film or TV show?
Yes, by name, in the same way as any other mention inside the story. Quoting the lyrics is different and usually needs a licence; see can I use song lyrics in my book?
Can a company sue me if my character hates their product?
They can try, but in England and Wales a company has to show serious financial loss for a defamation claim (Defamation Act 2013 s.1(2)). Opinions clearly presented as a character’s opinion are low risk; false factual claims that a named product is dangerous are not.
Should I add ® every time I mention a brand?
No. That is for the brand owner’s own materials. Plain, correctly capitalised names are standard in fiction.
Final thoughts
Use real brands where they make the scene feel true, keep them inside the story, and keep them out of the title, the cover and your keywords. When a product or company has to do something terrible for the plot, invent it.
If you are quoting other people’s words rather than naming their products, read can I quote a book, a poem or the Bible? next. And the UK Author Legal Pack has the permission-to-quote letter ready to send when you do need a yes.
— Robert publishing.co.uk
