[SOLVED] Mentioning Brand or Corporations
I notice how a lot of youtubers sometimes censor real brand/corporate names in fear of being sued. Like subway being mentioned as soubway, apple being alluded as pineapple, etc. I am not sure if people's names are also treated this way or not.
But some corporations like Disney are fine being mentioned along with their IP. The question is, how true is the sueing threat that youtubers self censor themselves (and even made into a long running meme) and how careful should you be? Should I hint all corporations/brands or can I outright say it?
5 Replies
As far as I'm aware (and I'm obviously not a lawyer), it's perfectly fine to talk about trademarked products in your video, and many YouTubers do (see virtually any tier list video). It'd be highly strange to see a company suing an individual for it, unless that individual was:
1. Making it seem like they were associated with the trademarked product.
2. Making false allegations which were not personal opinions (e.g. claiming X product causes cancer). Saying that you don't like coke and prefer pepsi won't get you in any trouble (well, maybe with the internet in general)
In general, you should be fine mentioning brands as long as you're not trying to mislead people.
I see. Duly noted, thank you. How about talking about work experiences for example? Does it fall under NDA and stuff? Example, telling story about customers they ever serve there and also maybe vent about the management, system, etc.
It depends if you actually signed an NDA for the job. In that case, you'd need to read the NDA (and potentially go over it with a lawyer). If not, then you're free to talk about your work experiences. Keep in mind though, that what you say is public - so future employers might see it and use that against you - so it's a personal call. Mentioning that working in Subway was soul crushing or something would be fine though. I'd also avoid calling out people by name - but saying "While working there, my manager was awful" is fine
I see. I wouldn't want to work as a fast food employee if I can help it hahaha. In that case, my situation would be similar to the last part you said. An expression of opinion like that is fine then because of course I won't dox their name. Thank you very much for your insight!
np!