New Jersey  |  Intellectual Property  Legal Question  Asked on:
9/19/13, 12:33 pm  Can I use a pun on a brand name in a song
title? For example, saying "Taco Belle" or something like that.
1 Answer  Answered on: 9/19/13, 12:47 pm by Frank Natoli  You
are free to use the names of businesses, people or companies in
your songs. In this context, you are not using those brands to
identify yourself in any way so they are not being employed as
trademarks.  Of course, anytime you mention a famous brand or
person, etc. you need to make sure there is nothing you are
saying that can be construed as defamatory leaving them room for
that kind of claim; an opinion however is perfectly fine. So you
can sing about how Walmart exploits workers, if that is your
opinion, but you cannot say that they engage in violations of
child labor laws because that is a fact that if untrue they can
come after you for saying publically. Of course, if you have
reason to believe that it is in fact true then you can claim it.
But you better ha