You can't copyright a title. If I wanted to write a book about Dolly Madison and call it Hello, Dolly," i could. The only thing that would stop me, would be if the title is trademarked, which is different than copyright.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states that a trademark protects words, phrases, symbols or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others. Brand names like Pepsi, Xerox and Band-Aid are all protected. So is the Nike "swoosh." But more relevant to us, book titles such as The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are trademarked.
Unlike copyright protection, which is granted the minute your work is written down, trademarks aren't handed out so freely. In fact, if the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn't consider your title (or brand) a distinctive mark that is indisputably distinguishable from others, you will not be granted trademark protection. This is why you see so many books with the same?or very similar?titles. Many of the terms are considered too generic or arbitrary to warrant protection.
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"Hello Dolly"
You can't copyright a title. If I wanted to write a book about Dolly Madison and call it Hello, Dolly," i could. The only thing that would stop me, would be if the title is trademarked, which is different than copyright.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states that a trademark protects words, phrases, symbols or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others. Brand names like Pepsi, Xerox and Band-Aid are all protected. So is the Nike "swoosh." But more relevant to us, book titles such as The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are trademarked.
Unlike copyright protection, which is granted the minute your work is written down, trademarks aren't handed out so freely. In fact, if the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn't consider your title (or brand) a distinctive mark that is indisputably distinguishable from others, you will not be granted trademark protection. This is why you see so many books with the same?or very similar?titles. Many of the terms are considered too generic or arbitrary to warrant protection.