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10/25/2015

(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

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CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusing
Tendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcoming
book,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryof
IndependentIndia?
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QUESTIONTOPICS

FromTrystTo
Tendulkar(2014
book)

NavinNikunj
AddBioMakeAnonymous

Writeyouranswer,oranswerlater

BalajiViswanathan
SachinTendulkar

8Answers

HistoricalIndia

ArchieD'Cruz,Havenever*not*beeninvolvedinpublishing

India

6kViewsUpvotedbyBalajiViswanathan,IndianbyBirth.IndianbyThought.

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Assomeoneinvolvedinpublishing,Ifoundthisaninterestingandevenafair
question.

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IbelieveBalajiViswanathaniscorrectinthathecanuseTendulkarinthetitle,
butnotforthereasonshedescribed.Newsreportingandreviewsarean
entirelydifferentbeastthanbooktitles.Inmostcountries,newsreportingand
commentaryisprotectedfromliabilityonmattersofpublicinterest.Aperson
cannotobjecttotheirnamebeingusedinareport(whichiswhynewspapers
canspeakaboutpoliticiansandsportsmen,evencritically,withoutfearof
beingsued).
Withbooks,itismoreofagreyarea,andcancomedowntothelawinthe
countrywherethebookispublished.FromwhatIhaveread,thereareseveral

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10/25/2015

(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

reasonswhyBalajiappearstobeonsafeground.(IsayappearsbecauseIam
notalawyer,butambasingmyansweroninterpretationsofwhatIamreading
onlegalsites).*

TrystToTendulkar(2014book)getfans
likethewayofChetanBhagatbooks?
MoreRelatedQuestions

Thisbookisadocumentary,andnotaworkoffiction
Itdoesnot(tomyknowledge)defameSachinTendulkarinanyway
Itdoesnotusehisphotographonthecover(whichmightbeconsidered
endorsement)
Tendulkar,fromwhatIcantell,isnotaregisteredbrandmarkinthe
UnitedStateswherethebookispresumablybeingpublished**
Thenameisnotbeingusedinthetitleforcommercialpurposes(i.e.tosell
aproductotherthanthebookitself).
ThemostspecificexplanationIcouldfindofwhatispermittedwhenusinga
celebritysnameinabooktitlecomesfromthelawofficesofLloydJ.Jassin,
andIquotefromhiswebsite,http://www.copylaw.com ***

UseofFamousNamesinTitles
UnauthorizedBiographies:TheFirstAmendmentisthepatronsaint
andprotectorofunauthorizedbiographies.Consequently,awellknown
personcannotstoptheuseofhisorhernameinthetitleofanunauthorized
biographicalworksolelyontrademarkprecepts.Theprotectionoftheright
offreeexpressionissoimportantthatevenwherearightofpublicityis
recognized(therighttocommercialusesofone'snameandimage),the
public'srighttoknowwhatprominentpeoplehavedoneorwhathas
happenedtothemisgenerallyindulged.
Thegeneralruleisthataslongasuseofthecelebrity'snameisaliteraryor
expressiveuse(i.e.,primarilyeditorial),andnotadisguisedadvertisement
forthesaleofgoodsorservices(e.g.,cookbooks),permissionisnotrequired.
Editedtoadd:
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10/25/2015

(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

Ihavefoundatleastnineotherbooksthatuse"SachinTendulkar"orjusthis
firstorlastnamesinthebooktitle,includingonebyAyazMemon,awriterI
haveworkedwithinthepast.Here'sthelink:SachinTendulkar:TheMan
CricketLovedBackTheworld'sbestwritersonIndia'sbiggestsporting
legend

Linksandfurtherreading:
*WhentoUseaRelease
*Pageonmissouri.edu
**http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/
***http://www.copylaw.com/new_artic...
Updated20Nov2014ViewUpvotes
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(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

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BalajiViswanathan,Historybuff
64.6kViewsBalajiisaMostViewedWriterinIndiawith282endorsements.

Ifanewspapercomeswithaheadline"Tendulkarscoredacentury"doyou
thinkthepaperaskspermissionfromSachinTendulkar'sbrandmanagers?
Canyousay"SachinTendulkargotout?"Canyouwriteanarticlecriticizing
Google'sproducts?CanyouwriteanarticlepraisingSonywithouttaking
permissionfromtheirmarketingteam?Canyouwriteamoviereviewon
"Interstellar"withouttakingthepermissionofChristopherNolan?Canyou
writeabookonNolan'smovies?
Thereare4reasonswhyIusedTendulkar'snameforthebooktitle:
1. India'sbiggesteconomiceventcamein1991.Itopenedupthecountryand
changedthenation.Sachin'sbiggesteventcamein1991tourofAustralia.
Infact,abigchunkoftheinitialpagesareaboutdrawingparallels
betweenIndianeconomyandSachin'scareer.Thebroadergoalforthe
bookistogetpeopleexcitedabouthistoryandseeitthroughentertaining
analogies.
2. IdivideIndia'shistoryintotwopartsthefirst3decadesofNehruvian
politicsandlast3decadesthatlooksverydifferentfromNehru'sIndia.
Sachinwasbornin1973rightattheendofthefirstera.Thus,Ifoundit
verycomfortabletologicallydivideTryst(Nehru'sspeechin1947)for
firsteraandTendulkarforthesecondera.
3. IndiansarepassionateandoftenunitedabouttwothingsPoliticsand
Cricket.Thesetwomakepeoplescream[andthusIhaveascreaming
womanforthecover].MostIndianhistoriansfocusmainlyonthepolitics
part.Iwanttoprovideamorebroaderviewanddeliberatelyaddedsports
inthetitle.TryststandsforpoliticsandTendulkarstandsforCricket.
Again,IndiaisdrivenbypersonalitiesandfindNehru&Sachinimpacting
abigchunkoftheirera.
4. ThebookcoversthetimebetweenAugust1947andDecember2013.
Nehrugavehis"TrystwithDestiny"speechonAugust15,1947andthusit
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10/25/2015

(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

actsasthestartingpoint.SachinTendulkarretiredintheendof2013
andmarkstheendingpartofthebook'sera.

Thereare4reasonswhyIdon'tfearalawsuit:
1. Thebookdoesn'tdefameSachininanyway.Ratherittalksabouthimin
acompletelypositiveway.Peopleseldomcomplainaboutgettingonthe
historybooks,especiallyinapositivesense.
2. Thebookdoesn'tsuggestorimplyanykindofSachinendorsement.For
instance,ifIwroteabookon"SachinTendulkarsuggestedBatting
strokes"Imightgetintotrouble.Also,I'mnotsellingaCricketbator
anythingthatmightconfusewithSachin'sbrand.
3. ThereareenoughreasonswhyhisnamewasusedinthebooktitleasI
explainedabove.Thus,Icanbringacreativedefensebasedonrelevance.
4. Thisbookisahistorybookandaboutfactsandevents.Historically,history
booksanddocumentariescarriedasmuchfreedomofspeech
protectionasnewsarticles.

Insummary,ifIweretryingtopromoteaCricketinggoodscompanyorifI
weretryingtodefameanyofSachin'sbrands,thereisapotentiallawsuit.In
thiscasemylawyerhasnotsaidanythinglikethatandIwouldcontinueto
use.it.ThereisastrongrationaleforwhyIwanttouseSachinTendulkar's
nameinthetitleandifinthetotallyunlikelyeventofthisbeingsued,itcould
bealandmarkcaseon"FreedomofSpeech"protectionsinIndia[makingthe
bookitselftogetonhistorybooks].
Updated17Nov2014ViewUpvotesAskedtoanswerbySiddharthNandecha
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AshutoshJadhav,Full2Desi!!
715Views

AnybodycansueanybodyinIndia.Butthechancesofwinningwill
beZEROinthiscase.'Tendulkar'isnotaregisteredsurnamenorisit
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10/25/2015

(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

protectedbyanycopyrightlawsforanywheretoinfringe.Infact,thereis
anotherfamousTendulkarthatyoushouldknowof(actuallytherearemany).
Sachin'sfatherhimself(Mr.RameshTendulkar)wasafamousmarathipoet.
Andtherearemanyothers.
1)Mr.VijayTendulkar
VijayTendulkar(Marathi:

)(6January192819May2008)
wasaleadingIndian playwright,movieandtelevisionwriter,literary
essayist,politicaljournalist,andsocialcommentatorprimarilyinMarthi .
HeisbestknownforhisplaysShantata!CourtChaluAahe (1967),
GhshirmKotwl (1972),andSakhrmBinder (1972).Manyof
Tendulkar'splaysderivedinspirationfromreallifeincidentsorsocial
upheavals,whichprovidesclearlightonharshrealities.Heprovidedhis
guidancetostudentsstudying"playwrightwriting"inUSuniversities.For
overfivedecadesTendulkarhadbeenahighlyinfluentialdramatistand
theatrepersonalityinMahrshtra .

Hisdaughter2)PriyaTendulkar

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(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

PriyaTendulkar(19542002)[1] wasanIndianactress,[2] social


activistandawriter,whoismostknownforhereponymousroleinthe
televisionseriesRajani (1984).
AndtherearemanysuchTendulkarswhohavemadetheirnameindifferent
fields.Anybodycanusetheirnames.AsBalajisirhasalreadytold,hecannot
besuedforwritingabouthistory.
Written16Nov2014ViewUpvotes
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SuyashManjul,WethePeopleofIndia....
778ViewsUpvotedbyBalajiViswanathan,IndianbyBirth.IndianbyThought.

WhileBalajihasproperlystatedallthereasonIonlywishtoaddthelegal
aspect.
SachinTendulkar'snameisapublicproperty.Hehadthisnamebeforehe
becamesachintendulkar.Hisnameisapublicpropertyandisfreetobe
usedforalllegalpurposeswhichdonotharmhisreputation.Thebookas
writtenbyBalajiisquiteclearwhenittellsinthesubtitleitselfthatisabout
India'shistory.Inhisbook'stitletendulkarisnotapersonbutahistorical
event.
https://www.quora.com/CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkarsnameinpromotinghisforthcomingbookFromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia

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10/25/2015

(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

SachinhasalreadytrademarkedSTandthatissomethingwhichcannotbe
usedrightawaywithoutpermission.Tendulkarisasurnamethatisusedby
quitealotofpeopleinMaharashtra.
YoucannotplayinternationalcricketwithoutBCCI'spermissionbutthatdoes
notmeanthatyoucannotdiscussit.SachinTendulkar'snameisnotan
intellectualproperty,neitherarehisrecordsnorarethecoincidingevents.
Further,Indiancourtsdonotrecognizecelebrityrightsunlesstheyharmthe
reputationofthepersonconcerned.
Iamsureanylawsuitifeverinitiatedwillfailmiserably.
Iknowseveralauthorsthathavenotonlyusedthenamesofpeopleintheir
titlebuthavewrittencompletebooksaboutthosepeoplewithoutevertaking
permissionfromthem.Theyneverfacedalawsuit.
Written18Nov2014ViewUpvotes
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BrunoMascarenhas,AssistantProfessorofNeurosurgery,Authorof
MedicalBooks,Blogger,WebDe...
396Views

No
Hecannotbesued
SachinTendulkar,inadditiontobeinganindividual,isalsoaphenomenon
Hiscareercoincidedwithtwoimportantphasesinhistory
1.Onedayinternationals.ODIgrewwithSachinandasheretiredT20have
cometoprominence.
2.Thepost1990liberalisationglobalisationprivatisationimpactalsocoincided
withSachin
IfsomeonewantstotracegrowthofODIshecannotignoreRichards,Kapil,
Sachin
Sameway
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10/25/2015

(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

Ifsomeonewantstowriteindianhistoryofsecondhalfof20thcenturysachin
cannotbeavoided
Iknowsachinhaterswillnotlikethisanswer,butthisisthehardtruth
Ifindthetitlebeingcorrectandinfactacknowledgingthephenomenoncalled
Sachin
Written17Nov2014ViewUpvotes
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ManasMamgain,Mydeathisgoingtohappenbybeingsarcasticatthe
wrongtime.
526Views

Ohyes!MrVishwanathancandefinitelybesuedonusingitbecausethesales
ofhisbookwillbeaffectedbytheuseofthename'Tendulkar'.Thereason
beingisthatsupposeIwriteabookandnameit'ThelandwheretheTatas
lived'.EventhoughImayhavewrittenlargelyaboutIndiainthisbookandjust
givenapassingreferenceinageneralsenseabouttheTatas,Istillcouldbe
suedonthebasisofthesuggesteduseofthesurnamebecauseitholdsabrand
valueandsignifiessomethingpopularamongstthegeneralpublic,unlikeany
othersurname.TheuseofthenameofthecricketingGodinthetitleofthe
bookisn'tthesameasusingitinanewspaper,asMrBalajIhaspointeditout.
Peopledonotbuythenewspaperbecauseitcontainsanewsarticleabout
Sachin.Whereasthesamecannotbesaidaboutabook.Abookissomething
muchmorespecificandpersonal.EventhoughSachinisnottheonlyperson
havingthissurnamebutthesurnamehasbeenassociatedandlargely
recognisedwithhim.Ithasatypicalbrandvaluenow.Iwouldliketopointout
thateveryreferenceofthissurnamewouldnotentailtakingpermissionfrom
Sachinbutiftheirisanestablishedconnectionbetweenthereferenceand
contentthenapermissionbecomesnecessary.
Written17Nov2014ViewUpvotes
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UdayKiran,randomguylostintheseriesoftubes
599Views

Boy,IhopeRamachandraGuhadidn'tgetsuedforthis

andthis

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(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

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Written16Nov2014ViewUpvotes
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NaveenIndala,optimallypessimistic
135Views

Aaahh.....?!!Keepingasidethepossibility,whowillhavetimeforthat.Definitely
notSachinatleast.
Written11Dec2014ViewUpvotes
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(12)CanBalajiViswanathanbesuedforusingTendulkar'snameinpromotinghisforthcomingbook,FromTrysttoTendulkarTheHistoryofIndependentIndia?Quora

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Whatdoesitfeelliketogofrom
physicallyunattractiveto
attractive?

WhataresomefactsaboutIndia
thatIndiansaregenerallyunaware
of?

Whataresomeembarrassing
pubertystories?

VivekAnand,eNtRePrEnEuR||
iNtRoVeRt||aRtIsT||bAtMaN
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SwapnilKabra,Charteredaccountant

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5.5kViewsSwapnilisaMostViewed
WriterinCurrencies.

Logmujhepatla
papadkhkbulatethe
Firmerilifemenya
changeaya)DONT
WORRY!!:p...

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