Btw, I'm putting this in the trademark section because it's the closest to brand names.
I'm taking a legal environment of business class; we are currently discussing intellectual property. One note was that brand names can be used without the company's express written permission for 1) criticism (such as the Wall Street Journal), 2) information (like a newspaper), and 3) education (which explains why my teacher was able to mention the Wall Street Journal without getting the school sued). However, it makes no mention of the purpose to entertain.
I can see this happening, since, in one episode of Whose Line is it Anyway, they were playing the game Superheroes. One person suggested the crisis "there's no more cheetos." Drew Carey ended up going with shaving cream, since he was "worried about the brand name."
However, when I'm watching Comedy Central Presents Dane Cook, near the end, he mentions how his first job was at Burger King. Other comics make various other references to other brand names, such as Vic Henley and Graceland, Jeff Foxworthy and Cool Whip ("If you have a complete collection of salad bowls and they all say 'cool whip' on the side), etc.
Do those comics have to get the companies' express written permission, or are you allowed to use these brand names for entertainment purposes anyway?

