Is using this legal? Please, anyone with a speciality in law (patent, copyright)?

Question

I'm hitting up Yahoo! Answers just for a primer, since info on the subject is scarce. In a later installment of my novels, I have multiple characters dressed in corsets with bunny ears, and they do work as waitresses at a restaurant. Familiar? Yes, obviously, Playboy. I know that the costume worn by Playboy waitresses is patented, but does that mean they could sue me for describing girls wearing (basically) them in my novel? I would greatly like evidence of some kind to back up your answer, whether it be a former case involving playboy (already looked at Playboy vs. Wells and it wasn't helpful), or just a piece of legal U.S. code that might shed some light on the result of such a lawsuit.

Thanks, as always.

Little Princess · Accepted Answer

As an author, you're given a pretty wide latitude about what you can write. Before you can get into trouble for patent, copyright, or trademark infringement, you'd have to somehow be selling (or giving away) material that is in competition with them. If playboy were selling stories of their bunnies, then you could have trouble. But, as far as I know, they don't sell stuff like that.

The only problem that I could see you'd be risking would be if your story told of falsehoods about playboy. For instance, if your story is about some girl who starts working there only to find out the clubs are nothing more than drug dens and whore houses, then you'd risk libel/slander trouble.

Back in the '60s Gloria Stienam wrote story about her account as a bunny. You can look back and see if she or Cosmopolitan got in any legal trouble as a result.

Is using this legal? Please, anyone with a speciality in law (patent, copyright)?

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