For a discussion on trademark issues, continue reading. The law is clear that you cannot trademark individual book titles, but a title for a series of books can be trademarked since it serves the role of a. The title will probably make or break the book itself. The formal position of the office is simply that book titles must be refused registrationwith one exception discussed below. In the example above, the name i love trademarks could be trademarked if you wrote more than one book with that title, since it would no longer be considered a single creative work. When you trademark a book title, you are protecting the words as well as the identifying elements of your book, such as logos, designs, and slogans used to promote your work. Aug 12, 2016 the rules on trademarking a book title. The treatise fully incorporates the provisions of the america invents act into the u. Specifically, literary works are given trademark protection only upon a showing of secondary meaning. Your book title could be the most important aspect to your book. The main reason is due to a legal ruling that says book titles are descriptive enough where its already assumed youre the source of the material. In addition to directly protecting your work, trademark law stops people who try to use your work to promote their products and services. According to, a trademark can create opportunities for multiple passive income streams from licensing the sale of bookrelated merchandise and paraphernalia. Title of a single work refusal and how to overcome this.
A title of a single work refusal is when the uspto refuses registration of a mark because the sample of how the mark is actually used the specimen or other information in the record shows the mark being used solely as the title of a single creative work, such as a book title, and not as a trademark. Using a trademarked name in a book title using a trademark in the title of a howto guide for the use of a software product or computer hardware would normally fall under nominative fair use the use of somebody elses mark to refer to the actual. Sep 07, 2018 find me online at prospective clients often contact me because they want to register a book title as a trademark. It is wellestablished that the title of a single work, such as a book, is not considered a trademark, and therefore is unregistrablein. A trademark may be able to protect your book title, but it is more difficult than you think. No trademark protection in book or movie titles by scott hervey on february 6th, 2020 posted in ip, trademark law. And, as weve mentioned before, trademarks protect brands. However, it may be possible to trademark your title if it is distinctive enough. Patent and trademark office thinks the duplication of titles would be confusing or would dilute someones brand. In general, the courts have ruled that expressions as short as book titles do not qualify for protection. While trademarks endure as long as the mark is used, s eventually expire. Her titles include cocky biker and cocky cowboy to name a few. You may be able to trademark a book title or series title a trademark is more difficult to get than a, but you might be able to trademark a book is the u.
If you are the author of a book and wish to have a registered trademark for the title of the book some thought needs to be given about. For example, if you write one, individual book called i love trademarks. Another reason trademark law generally refuses to acknowledge trademark rights in the title to a single. Kleenex or aspirin where they could lose their mark if not actively protected and controlled. Trademark rights protect the logos, symbols and textual representations that uniquely identify goods in commerce. My favorite example is asking whether youd prefer to read a book the author called trimalchio at west egg or its publishers preferred title. Trademark protection for book titles revision legal.
Selecting and protecting the title of your book how to use. Oct 22, 20 for a discussion on trademark issues, continue reading. It will permit registration for a trademark associated with a series of works, such as a book series. Titles may not be ed, but if they are used to identify a business, good or service in the marketplace, they can be given trademark protection. Some titles qualify for trademark protection specifically, series titles like chicken soup for the soul, harry potter, encyclopedia brown, etc. Avoid a name that is too similar to another comic superhero, as this. How to use song titles or lyrics created by others. Publishers of works such as a star registry may register a claim to in the text of the volume or book containing the names the registry has assigned to stars, and perhaps the compilation of data.
Copyrighttrademark question for childrens book title. Trademark videos for an overview of trademarks, watch basic facts about trademarks. The law is clear that you cannot trademark individual book titles, but a title for a series of books can be trademarked since it serves the role of a brand. For example, if you write one, individual book called i love trademarks, then you will not be able to trademark this title. The character name and logo you choose must be unique, and they cannot infringe on another persons trademark rights. When people hear the mark cocacola they think of the famous cola flavored soda beverage manufactured by the company of the same name. Absent unusual circumstances, producing a new song or book, or movie that happens to share a title with a prior, ed work is not going to present a legal problem. Properly selected and maintained, your book s title can be your most valuable intellectual property asset. At the point that your book title becomes a brand, it. The story is discussed further in this blog from 2006. So if you have more than one book coming out in a series thats joined with a single title, then that umbrella title can be trademarked. Single book titles no longer protectable as trademarks. Trademark basics trademark registration and advice.
Copyright and trademark protections for song titles and. So, before signing a book contract, ask if your work has the potential for commercial benefit. Patent and trademark office uspto will not register a trademark for a standalone work. Heres an article about the topic trademarks for book titles can you get one. Federal trademark law is particularly useful for publishers who wish to register series titles while trademark common law and unfair competition laws are most suitable for the protection of. Recently, a romance writer managed to obtain a trademark registration for the word cocky in connection with a series of romance books, effectively giving herself a monopoly over a. A picture of mr jeremy fisher was held not to be a trademark, because at the time there had been no other possible publishers. Confidently determine the availability of a feature film, television production, book, or video game title. Song titles and trademark law trademark law is often confused for law but it is a very different type of legal protection it aims to prevent consumer confusion in the marketplace. The logic behind the legal principle that the title to a single creative work cannot function as a trademark is as follows. The main qualification for trademarking something, according to the trademark office, is that a mark cannot be confused with another.
Although the law will not protect titles, trademark and unfair competition law may protect these valuable properties. Canada has now adopted the practice, followed in the united states and many other jurisdictions, that the titles of single books are not protectable as trademarks. Copyright page samples you can copy and paste into your book. Remember, it is you and not your publisher who should retain the trademark licensing rights to the title of your work.
A great title can contribute tremendously to a books success. You cannot trademark the name of a single creative work. But you cant trademark the name of one single book. So the ttab is saying that title is a synonym for name, which isnt very helpful. Once she obtained the registration, she apparently threatened other authors who used cocky in their book titles with trademark infringement suits, and approached amazon asking them to remove from sale her competitors books with cocky in the title. May 05, 2015 a great title adds a lot to the success of a book and and becomes an important asset to your intellectual property as well as your income. Unlike law, trademark law protects names, titles, short phrases and other symbols that distinguish the source of one product or service from another. An author owns the to a book the moment it is writtenbefore publishing the book or looking at registration. So if is out, what other forms of protection are available. Publishers of works such as a star registry may register a claim to in the text of the. Find me online at prospective clients often contact me because they want to register a book title as a trademark. And even if you have one book, that can be trademarked. If you use a title in a way that might cause confusion in the marketplace, there could be trademark issues. You may be able to obtain trademark protection of your book title if your title is distinctive enough, a part of a series, or an overall part of your brand.
One of the most common questions about trademarks i answer on a daily basis is if one can trademark a book title or not. The general rule is that book titles unless part of a series cannot be registered as trademarks. A common point of confusion about the different purposes of trademark and law occurs in the context of titles. However, you can trademark a book title if you write a series of books using that title. Even if you cant a book title, or the other items listed above, you can register the title as a trademark.
However, some titles qualify for trademark protection. As i discuss below, under trademark law, some titles are more worthy of trademark protection than others. Protection of book titles trademark law and legal definition generally, book titles are not protected under trademark law unless they are part of a series. But you can trademark a title, which may give you the protection you seek. Rely on compumark for trusted information to help you clear entertainment names for both title and trademark use in the u. You cant trademark your book title, except when you can. Its not possible to trademark a single book title if you plan to just write one work and not do anything else with it. But like it or not, this prejudice against trademark protection for single book titles has persisted now for nearly a century, and it is firmly ensconced in trademark office policy and practice.
This is the same for the title to single books, songs and other singular creative works. May 25, 2018 the law is clear that you cannot trademark individual book titles, but a title for a series of books can be trademarked since it serves the role of a brand. This is true despite the fact that the title of book is not descriptive of its contents. One of the most frequently asked questions in our practice is whether book titles and other titles to single creative works such as a title of a music album, cd, dvd, sound recording, or name or title of a play or movie can be protected as trademarks. King productions appealed the decision to the trademark trial and appeal board ttab. Can you use the same book title thats been used before. What every small business should know now, not later approximately 40 minutes. For example, the harry potter series is protected because of its great success allowing it to be considered a recognized brand. Recently, a romance writer managed to obtain a trademark registration for the word cocky in connection with a series of romance books, effectively giving herself a monopoly over a term that is common in the genre. Book titles and titles of single creative works new york. The arrangement of words in a book title cannot be trademarked. The work to be registered could be one work, a collection of works or an individual contribution in a larger work.
This reference provides intellectual property practitioners with the most important patent, trademark, and laws in the u. How to get a trademark for a comic book superhero character. The federal court of canada made the change in january 2009 in drolet v. This is a hint at why most of the time you cant trademark your book title. Patent, trademark and copyright laws intellectual property. Samples of a long page and a short page are provided so readers can copy and paste them into their own book files, ready for customization. No trademark protection in book or movie titles the. For example, star wars is trademarked, and uniquely identifies the movies, books, groups of characters, etc. May 30, 2019 a trademark is more difficult to get than a, but you might be able to trademark a book is the u. Blog you cant trademark your book title, except when you can. Trademarks which are a form of commercial shorthand are important in a marketing sense because they establish goodwill between a purchaser and seller. The reasoning behind this is that trademarks are really meant to function as the identifiers of goods and services, and book titles dont really fulfill that function. Can i trademark a book title before i write the book. Oct, 2009 so no, you cant a title to a book, song or movie.
How do i know if a book title is trademarked or ed, if the book itself is in the public domain. It can also create opportunities for multiple passive income streams from licensing the sale of bookrelated merchandise and paraphernalia. A great title can contribute tremendously to a book s success. Generally, a trademark typically will not be granted to protect a book title, there are some exceptions. This is the title of the specific work you want to register. Only the way the title looks can be protected as a mark, such as the way the font, design and colors combine to make it recognizable as the title of a particular book. This doesnt mean that you are free to title your next book harry potter and the sorcerers stone, though.
In order to protect your book title, you cannot rely on trade marks. Titles trademark law will not generally protect unlike series titles, titles of a single work, whether a book, periodical, song, movie, or television program, generally, will not be protected under either trademark or unfair competition law. A trademark is more difficult to get than a, but you might be able to trademark a book is the u. May, 2010 the key question seems to be whether it is merely descriptive of the contents of the book, or whether it served to distinguish the publisher from other publishers. Using a trademarked name in a book title using a trademark in the title of a howto guide for the use of a software product or computer hardware would normally fall under nominative fair use the use of somebody elses mark to refer to the actual product or service that is associated with the mark. How to know if a book title is trademarked or ed, if the book. Mar 03, 2015 even if the trademark owner seems keen on the movie idea, trademark law frowns on a trademark owner who doesnt protect the use of their name, threatening generification of the trademark i. So, when your book title, by virtue of your use of it in connection with goods and services that dont. It is wellestablished that the title of a single work, such as a book, is not considered a trademark, and therefore is unregistrablein essence, the title of a work is treated as the name of the work, and therefore as describing the work. The title of a single creative work is not registrable on either the principal or supplemental register. Can i trademark or the title of a us ed book in advance of the body of the book. Oct 23, 20 a common point of confusion about the different purposes of trademark and law occurs in the context of titles.
Youve come up with the perfect title for your book. Read on to learn more about how to a book, what actually protects, and how secure your. To a book completely, however, the author needs the added protection of federal registration. If youre the head of a new llc, youve got a lot to do including choosing a title for yourself.
If you want to formally obtain protection for your comic book superhero character, follow these four basic steps. Title of a single work refusal and how to overcome this refusal. Before providing you with the tools you need to select and protect the title of your book, its important to note that law does not protect book titles. Stiftung gralsbotchaft 2009 fc 17, a decision that significantly alters proprietary rights in single book. As with many things legal, the answer comes down to a general rule and an exception. Trademark protection for literary titles of single works is unique in trademark law.
You want to make sure that no other writer can use this title for their work. You cant trademark your book title, except when you can small. Mar 21, 2019 whats the difference between a and a trademark. Generally, the title to a single motion picture is not entitled to trademark protection. Secure your brand with trademark factory riskfree, guaranteed. No trademark protection in book or movie titles the ip. If a name is part of a trademark, it must be unique. 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.