Using a fictional archetypes in speech or writing
<p>Is it legal to use or reference a part of a story / series like saying, "Studs are super-saiyan dykes"?</p>

<p>Would the studio that owns DBZ have a way to sue for using "super-saiyan" by claiming it was defamation, diluting their brand, etc., since it is a special term which many anime fans would recognized from the franchise?</p>

<p>Generally speaking such usages are not actionable unless the phrase is a trademark and it is obvious that you exploiting that trademark in a way that either damages the trademark holder or creates confusion over who owns the trademark. If it is an isolated reference, then it is fair use of the trademark.</p>

<p>For example, imagine you wrote a story that included the sentence. "Bob loved to read Spider-Man comic books and dressed up as Spider-Man all the time." Even though "Spider-Man" is a trademark of the Marvel company, they have no legal basis for preventing you from referring to the trademark in that way in a novel. If, however, you wrote a novel about Spider-Man, that would be a problem, because that could be seen as infringing on Marvel's brand.</p>

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