Fictional companies are often used in film or television where copyright or the likely chance of being prosecuted exists from using the name of a real company. They may be used on television in countries where the use of real company names or trademarks is prohibited in dramatic presentations to avoid the possibility of product placement.
Often, when a fictional company is used, it will be a parody of a real world counterpart, which would avoid any unwanted legal issues.
In other cases (such as Lost's Oceanic Airlines) fictional brands have been carried across multiple series and even from movies to TV. Oceanic first appeared in the 1996 movie Executive Decision and has been seen in multiple series and films, including its high-profile place in Lost.
Other times a fictional corporation is an in-joke carried across multiple products by the same games developer, director, or writer. The Ultor Mining Corporation, for instance, shows up in several video games from Volition including their modern-day Saint's Row series and the science fiction Red Faction series. Similarly Big Kahuna Burger fast food franchises have received at least a passing mention in several Quentin Tarantino movies.
Famous quotes containing the words fictional and/or companies:
“It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.... This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen, our everyman must take on a science fictional way of thinking.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920–1992)
“The recent attempt to secure a charter from the State of North Dakota for a lottery company, the pending effort to obtain from the State of Louisiana a renewal of the charter of the Louisiana State Lottery, and the establishment of one or more lottery companies at Mexican towns near our border, have served the good purpose of calling public attention to an evil of vast proportions.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)