I've been writing a YA mystery book in which one of the three main characters is a detective—who now seems to share his name with another fictional character on TV.
I was pretty young when I came up for the idea for the characters, and wasn't really aware that there was another fictional character out there with the same name, let alone that he was on a fairly popular show. (Found out when I saw commercials that repeatedly used the name!)
My character has nothing to do with the one on TV; besides the name they only share the characteristics of both being white and male.
I really like that name anyways, since it fits my character so well.
If I tried to publish this someday, would I run into copyright/legal issues, even though my character is nothing like the one on TV? Would I therefore need to change his name?
Edit: the name itself is somewhat uncommon, but it's really just two fairly common names together. The first name is just Harvey, but put that with the last name and you get a character on a popular show (I only withhold it to save myself the embarrassment of having it on the Internet forever :) )
Answer
To contradict the other answers there is a difference between copyright and trademark law.
You may want to sell your YA novel to a major publisher or wish to see film & TV rights, merchandising or any ancillary revenue.
In that case do not name your character the same as a major TV character. I guarantee they have trademark protection (registered or not).
You can change the name now and find one that you like and fits your character. Plus it will give you a chance to get used to the new name.
You could change a few letters and Harry Potter becomes Perry Hotter the intergalactic spaceship captain, but it seems petty unless it's a parody or comedy.
I prefer to change either the first name or the surname of characters I discover too similar. So Mike Hammer becomes Mike Montag. He may even become Jack "Hammer" Montag if the story suits.
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