u/Crypto-Chronicles

I often hear the advice “don’t use real people in your book” to avoid legal issues. But what if a character is clearly inspired by a real public figure — someone known for a specific invention, discovery, or product?

Say your story is about the early days of the mobile phone industry and the people behind it, and therefore one of your key characters is the guy who invented the iphone (thought you fictionalise some of his actions to thicken your plot).

Is it better to create a fictional character, thereby “uncrediting” Steve Jobs for the iphone, or use the real person (name and all) since the accomplishment is theirs? What are your thoughts on this, and how likely is it for fictional writers to suffer legal backlash in this type of cases?