# Can a business have the same name as a book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209 "2013-06-17T20:19:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209/1 "2013-06-17T20:19:16Z")
There is a book (and indeed also a journal) named _Philosophical Investigations_. Could one name a business “Philosophical Investigations” without asking permission from the publishers of the above? Or are names of books free for the picking? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209/2 "2013-06-17T21:40:20Z")
In general, book titles are noncopyrightable. Some may contained trademarked elements (like Star Wars or Star Trek), but if you avoid those, you don’t have to ask permission. It’s possible that “Philosophical Investigations” itself is trademarked. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209/3 "2013-06-17T21:52:11Z")
Just make sure it doesn’t have the same name as a superhero. [People might run up to him and demand a muffin or a scone.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoqL8NWFPJc) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209/4 "2013-06-17T23:36:51Z")
Yeah book names cannot be copyright. I once saw two books with the same title next to each other on a bookstore shelf. The title was “Sideshow” and one was by the fairly well-known SF author Sherri Tepper and the other was by someone else whose name began with a T. But I guess they could be trademarked. I would consult a lawyer before opening a cafe called, say, “Harry Potter’s”. Or even “Hog’s Head Inn” (the one owned by Dumbledore’s brother). ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209/5 "2013-06-17T23:55:18Z")
What does it mean if a trademark is [“dead”](http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=4801%3A8aorht.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA1%24LD&expr=PARA1+AND+PARA2&p_s_PARA2=let%27s+be+clear&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA2%24COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit+Query&a_search=Submit+Query)? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209/6 "2013-06-17T23:58:45Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > What does it mean if a trademark is [“dead”](http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=4801%3A8aorht.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA1%24LD&expr=PARA1+AND+PARA2&p_s_PARA2=let%27s+be+clear&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA2%24COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit+Query&a_search=Submit+Query)? [From here](http://www.uspto.gov/main/glossary/): > [@](#): > > a dead or abandoned status for a trademark application means that specific application is no longer under prosecution within the USPTO, and would not be used as a bar against your filing. It does not necessarily mean that there are not other marks that the trademark examining attorney would cite. It is also possible to revive an abandoned application (for example, if the USPTO declared the application abandoned for failure of the applicant to respond to an Office action, but the applicant later proved that a response was sent and the USPTO simply failed to match it with the file in a timely manner, then the case could be revived). Also, regardless of the status of an application within the USPTO, the owner may still claim common law rights, i.e, the mark may still be in use in commerce. That probably doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-business-have-the-same-name-as-a-book/661209/7 "2013-06-18T00:01:51Z")
Okay, thanks.