Recently, two books with the same title were published within a week of one another. One was published by McCorkle, who had been writing for seventeen years and believed there were no contemporary novels with the same name. In reality, both books are the same title. But what’s the legal status of book titles? Are they copyrighted? And can they be used by other authors? Find out in this article. Here’s how to determine if a book title is copyrighted.
Book titles are not considered intellectual property in the United States
While book titles are essentially short slogans, they are not copyrighted. This is in line with the Copyright Office’s belief that book titles should not be restricted to one book. For example, if Jeffrey Deaver writes a book with the title Garden of Beasts, it’s possible that a copyrighted title will be used by another author. It’s important to read a synopsis of both books before purchasing a copy of either.
Book titles, however, are protected by the common law of unregistered trademarks. Because book titles are descriptive of the content of a book, they are not a trademark. However, they can be registered for goods and services in some countries, though the US courts have interpreted the law to protect them in some cases. Listed below are examples of cases in which book titles have been protected in the United States.
They’re short phrases
A good short phrase has a strong effect on a reader. A cleverly chosen phrase can result in an incisive aphorism, haiku-beauty, or perfect punchline. Unfortunately, these short phrases are often stolen and recycled in other works and on merchandise. So how can a writer protect themselves? Here are a few tips. We’ll also talk about how to avoid being sued for using these phrases.
First, make sure that you enclose your book title in quotes. Short phrases convey ideas in a limited number of ways, so copyright protection for them is weak. Secondly, copyright laws are often stretched to serve the purpose of trademark law. If someone can own a phrase and monopolize it, then they have violated copyright law. If you use a phrase in your book title that is not protected by copyright, it’s likely that you’ll lose your monopoly rights.
They’re not copyrighted
Although you can’t use someone else’s material, you can take pictures of them. In many cases, you can do so as long as the character or image is in the public domain. For example, it is perfectly legal to copy Mickey Mouse and his characters, if you don’t claim that you created them. If you are trying to use something from the public domain, you must give proper credit to the creator.
They’re searchable
Can books have the same title? Yes. As long as the titles are of different works in the same genre. This is an important distinction, because a copyrighted title may be difficult to distinguish from a generic one, which could be confusing for readers. Even if the titles are unique and different, you must keep the fact that there are many books with the same name in mind. Listed below are some common examples of titles that can’t be the same.
A recent example of this phenomenon occurred when two books published a week apart appeared on Amazon. The author of one of them, Heidi Thorne, a self-publishing advocate and former trade newspaper editor, worried that another book with the same title might appear ahead of hers on Google searches and Amazon. Examples of books with the same title include Avengers, Twilight, Fast and Furious, Notorious, and Bad Boys.
They make people feel silly
Can books have the same title and make people seem silly? The answer depends on the context. For example, a book with the title “Why Racism is Great” might make people sound silly when they say it aloud, and they’ll probably have to justify why they’re buying it. In other words, social context matters. People feel silly when they’re socially awkward, so consider this when coming up with a book title.
