# Titles can't be copyrighted **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142 "2002-07-27T19:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sleepy\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Sleepy\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleepy_Gene)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/1 "2002-07-27T19:07:05Z")
I know that titles of works cannot be copyrighted, and many famous examples exist of books with the same name. In fact they are common in schools, where World History is always popular, etc. But the question arises, does that really free you from harassment from other author’s lawyers? If I publish “The Pelican Brief” and have my name in the usual place, I assume someone will try to harass me about it. Can I simply ignore them? ---
**Author:** ![TridCloudwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TridCloudwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TridCloudwalker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/2 "2002-07-27T20:09:22Z")
I know that Michael Deely and Ridley Scott had to pay William S. Burroughs a fair sum of money for the use of the name Blade Runner that he came up with for one of his books. So I don’t know if titles can’t be copyrighted at all…however some rollerblade company has a pair called Blade Runners and I doubt they paid anything to use it. I dunno. It’s a weird situation. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/3 "2002-07-27T22:23:17Z")
[http://usgovinfo.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html%23hsc](http://usgovinfo.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html%23hsc) Titles cannot be copyrighted. ---
**Author:** ![amijayaribaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac8455/32.png) [@amijayaribaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amijayaribaba)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/4 "2002-07-28T00:01:10Z")
Titles, however, might be trademarked if the title is being used as a mark in conjunction with the offering of goods or services. So, if there is a long line of “Pelican Brief” products, then … ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/5 "2002-07-28T00:36:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TridCloudwalker \* > \*\*I know that Michael Deely and Ridley Scott had to pay William S. Burroughs a fair sum of money for the use of the name Blade Runner that he came up with for one of his books. > > So I don’t know if titles can’t be copyrighted at all…however some rollerblade company has a pair called Blade Runners and I doubt they paid anything to use it. I dunno. It’s a weird situation. \*\* The origin of the title “Blade Runner” was a sci-fi novel written in the early 70’s by Alan E. Nourse. Burroughs paid norse for the use of the name in the late 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/6 "2002-07-28T05:50:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TridCloudwalker \* > \*\*So I don’t know if titles can’t be copyrighted at all…however some rollerblade company has a pair called Blade Runners and I doubt they paid anything to use it. I dunno. It’s a weird situation. \*\* Funny you should say that, because **Rollerblade** ® is a registered trademark owned by Benetton Sportsystem USA Inc. for their make of in-line roller skates. [http://www.rollerblade.com/about\_us/html/trademark.html](http://www.rollerblade.com/about_us/html/trademark.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Stewart\_v3.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@Dave\_Stewart\_v3.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Stewart_v3.0)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/7 "2002-07-28T06:30:37Z")
Case law in British Commonwealth jurisdictions says it depends whether you capture in your copy the rcognisable essence of the original. I’d say calling your film"The Pelican Brief" gave you a claim in brach of copyright, but also common law passing off (the equivalent in the US is under the Lanham Act, I think) the reputation of the original film. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/8 "2002-07-28T13:48:17Z")
We are now commingling “copyright” with “trademark.” Titles in the USA cannot be copyrighted, but a title can be a trademark. Names, however, cannot because more than one person can have the same name. I don’t believe you can trademark “Michael Jordan” for example, but you can “Nike’s Michael Jordan” since Nike is not a name of a person, but a name of a shoe that is a trademark name. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/9 "2002-07-28T14:54:14Z")
Let me get this straight. Say I changed my name legally to, for instance, John Grisham. Now let us say that the best-selling author John Grisham has just released his new book, The Pelican Brief. I too decide to publish a novel called The Pelican Brief, completely different story, totally unrelated to his novel, other than in the fact that it too is a legal thriller. Has he really no legal redress? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/10 "2002-07-28T15:12:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by barbitu8 \* > **Titles in the USA cannot be copyrighted, but a title can be a trademark. Names, however, cannot because more than one person can have the same name. I don’t believe you can trademark “Michael Jordan” for example,** Now I remember back in the 80s there was a Prefab Sprout album originally titled _Steve McQueen_ that could not be released under that title in the US because the actor’s family sued. I don’t know the full legal details, though. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/11 "2002-07-28T17:48:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Titles in the USA cannot be copyrighted, but a title can be a trademark. Names, however, cannot because more than one person can have the same name. I don’t believe you can trademark “Michael Jordan” for example_\* Oh, yes you can register a personal name as a trademark. A famous case: Billy Joel®. From _Business Week_, Jan. 19, 1998: > [@](#): > > Piano Man Billy Joel is not only a big-shot musician, he’s also a cautious enough businessman to use the ® resistered trademark symbol next to his name in record-club catalogs. Although many top acts have trademarked names, few place the mark in print next to their monikers. Some find it overlay commercial or just plain tacky. Not Joel. For the longest time, celebs have groused about hawkers of unlicensed T-shirts and souvenirs. Joel claims he once lost big bucks in a management dispute. But with the added trademark protection, he can take on the hucksters of knockoff merchandise when he kicks off a tour this month. His lawyer, Meyer Gross, said the entertainer can now seek damages from trademark violators from the time the infractions began, instead of when they were notified of the violation. So who’s next to go public with the celeb trademark? According to Gross, it might be one of his other superstar clients–singer Mariah Carey. I checked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database, and it’s now Mariah Carey®. Also, Ricky Martin®, Jennifer Lopez®, and Will Smith®. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/12 "2002-07-28T18:06:03Z")
Please tell me I’m not the only one who caught the horrid puns in that article about Joel… ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/13 "2002-07-28T20:10:56Z")
If my name be Billy Joel, even tho there is another Billy Joel with a trademarked name, he would have no basis for a suit against me for infringement of his trademark if I decide to market T-shirts, or whatnot, with that name on it. It is my name and I can use it as I please. That is not to say that there would not be recourse. If I legally change my name to John Grisham and write a book titled \*Pelican Brief \*, he could not sue me on the basis of infringement of any copyright or trademark (if there were one), but he would have a basis in fraud if he can show that I did that to capitalize on his book. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/14 "2002-07-28T20:31:02Z")
IIRC, you can be sued if your work “decreases the value” of an earlier work with the same title. I think you would get your ass sued off if you changed your name and came out with “Pelican Brief”. It wouldn’t take a smart lawyer to argue that the fact you changed your name and came out with a book with that title would indicate a deliberate intent to defraud. Mucho damages. Many people are paranoid about this, use one title while in production and then only slap on the real title just before release. E.g., Woody Allen does this with his films. “Annie Hall” was “Anehedonia” during production. Ditto Steve Allen, but who knows why. Wasn’t there a staff report about this? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/15 "2002-07-29T00:38:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Many people are paranoid about this, use one title while in production and then only slap on the real title just before release. E.g., Woody Allen does this with his films. “Annie Hall” was “Anehedonia” during production. For the record: In his book _When the Shooting Stops_, film editor Ralph Rosenbaum describes how the film was radically revised in the editing room, and that the new title came from the not-previously-intended themes that were discovered in this process. > [@](#): > > _ **from the book:** _ (I)n the fall of 1976, when I first started cutting _Annie Hall_ … (the film was) an untitled and chaotic collection of bits and pieces that seemed to defy continuity, bewilder its creators, and, of all Allen’s films, hold the least promise for popular success. … The first cut… was two hours and twenty minutes long and took us about six weeks to complete. Far from being the story of a love affair… it was the surrealistic and abstract adventures of a neurotic Jewish comedian who was reliving his highly flawed life and in the process satirizing much of our culture. Diane Keaton makes a brief appearance after Woody’s reference to her in the opening monologue and disappears for ten or fifteen minutes thereafter. …And so on. Yes, sometimes an alternate title is used early in production (George Lucas has done this more than once; c.f. _Blue Harvest_ and _Revenge of the Jedi._ It’s not true about _Annie Hall_, though. Oh, and regarding the OP, there was a modestly well-known case in film circles back in the mid-to-late 80’s when a Canadian film was released with the title _Fatal Attraction_ at almost exactly the same time the one with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close came out. There was a bit of a dust-up, but the Canadian company was able to show that they’d always had that title, from well before anybody was aware that the American studio had a like-named project. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/16 "2002-07-29T00:39:43Z")
Please accept this closing parenthesis, at no extra charge, to accompany the message above wherever you see fit to use it. ) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/17 "2002-07-29T00:59:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by barbitu8 \* > **If my name be Billy Joel, even tho there is another Billy Joel with a trademarked name, he would have no basis for a suit against me for infringement of his trademark if I decide to market T-shirts, or whatnot, with that name on it. It is my name and I can use it as I please.** Well, maybe yes, but only up to a point. It would depend on whether the t-shirts in the name of Billy Joel were deemed to be competing with the musician’s t-shirts. Take the multitude of McDonalds who cannot use their given names in the food business because McDonalds slaps them with restraining orders if they try. You might be able to get away with the use of your name in a completely different, non-competing business, as Cadillac pet food and other companies have shown. But if I were a star’s trademark lawyer I would be salivating over someone’s claim that “It is my name and I can use it as I please.” It would be a slam dunk at trial. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2002, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/18 "2002-07-29T12:25:56Z")
The payment for the use of “Blade Runner” was a decision made by the movie’s producers; they were not legally obligated to do so, but decided a payment would avoid any lawsuits (they probably would have won, but the court costs would have been bigger than what they paid out). If titles could be copyrighted, Robert B. Parker would owe me a lot of money\*. But unless there is an attempt to deceive, or if the book title is trademarked (i.e., Star Wars), the original author has no grounds for a lawsuit simply because the titles are the same. \*My story, “Playmates,” came out in F&SF in 1986; Parker’s novel of the same name appeared in 1989. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-cant-be-copyrighted/121142/19 "2002-07-29T13:58:56Z")
I recall that back in the 1980s there was an episode involving Lorimar productions and a Texas businessman who changed his name to Bobby Ewing and established a company called – you got it – Ewing Oil. I don’t recall if an action was actually filed, but I seem to remember that Lorimar prevailed in preventing the use of the name. Depending on the circumstances, you can be prevented from using your real name in connection with an offering of goods or services. For example, if you join the actor’s union, you are compelled to come up with a unique name. That’s why the guy on “Frazier” calls himself David Hyde Pierce instead of just David Pierce – there was already a David Pierce in the union. You can be prevented from using your name if it is found that it is likely to cause confusion with the trademark of a competitor (opening a hamburger restaurant called “McDonalds”). You can be prevented from using your name if it is found that it “dilutes” someone else’s trademark, even if it isn’t a competitor (a pizzeria called “Xerox” or an adult bookstore called “Kodak” or a used-car dealership called “IBM”). It seems to me that it’s even more likely that you’ll be the loser if it’s not the name you were born with. A court is going to look very closely at whether you changed your name with the intent of confusing the public regarding the origin of the goods or services. Now the author/title deal might be a little more tricky, but I’m pretty sure if you change your name to “John Grisham” and then try to publish a novel called “The Pelican Brief,” you’re going to find yourself in a tough battle.