Copyright on Book Title?

[Zoe]

Hi everyone,
I,m finally a Self Published author :-)  Had my first book signing party last Saturday and i,m feverishly working on my second one.
Question, does anyone know if there is a copyright on a book title?
Specifically "Out Of Africa"
Appreciate any feedback on where i can find this info.

Thanks

[rewh2oman]

Congrats on getting your book published!  That is very exciting!   

I found this info:

http://www.copyright.gov/

"How do I copyright a name, title, slogan or logo?
Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks. Contact the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, 800-786-9199, for further information. However, copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship. In some circumstances, an artistic logo may also be protected as a trademark. "

[Zoe]

Rewh2oman,
thanks for your kind words, its nice to have other writers rejoicing with one

Thanks for the link  too, just moused over there but its a maze :-( Couldnt quit figure out the info.

I once read that there is no copyright on a title, but have no idea where.
My second book "Out Of Africa- My Journey To Faith" in the oven...(editing) to be submitted on wednesday next wk and i got abit unsure...
I Better check this well.

[Nick]

FWIW, I agree with Russ here. A three-word title such as Out of Africa is too short to be protected by copyright. I believe that to enjoy copyright protection, the item in question must be a 'substantial literary work' or some similar wording.

Yes, it's possible that someone might have trademarked "Out of Africa", but I doubt it. I'm not aware of "Out of Africa" being used as a brand name, which is what trademarks are (though you could certainly double check this on the web to make sure).

I'm no lawyer, but in my opinion you should be safe to go ahead, especially as "Out of Africa" is only part of your book's proposed title.

HTH

Nick 

[satellite]

Out of Africa is a classic memoir by Isak Dinesen, also adapted into a well-known movie. I'm not sure if it's copyrighted, but it may at least cause some confusion.

[Talisman]

Possibly, although the faith subtitle may distract from that - I would check on amazon to see what other similar titles are already out there as well as the copyright websites.

June

[Nadine L]

Zoe,

In America, titles are not copyright protected. They can be trademarked, and that is often the case if Hollywood has made a movie. I'd ck the movie site, if there is one. Ordinarily, there is a circle with a "R" inside to indicate registered trademark. Or there may be a small TM superscript following the title. It is illegal in the US to use either symbol if the item isn't registered.

Still, you might want to think of other titles. "Out of Africa" is definitely branded, even if not trademarked.

The copyright site starts to make sense the more often you visit.

Nadine

[Zoe]

Thanks everyone for your helpful feedback.

After doing my homework, i decided to stick with my title. There is no copyright on the  Title "Out Of Africa" and besides mine doesnt end there, but has the "My Journey To Faith" as a sub-title. So its off to the publishing for this baby :-)

You are all a big help.
All the best,
Zoe aka Nancy

[Nick]

Glad you're going ahead, Zoe. If you look at it logically, it surely cannot be correct that a simple three-word phrase like "Out of Africa" is protected legally and nobody else can ever use it.

Congratulations on completing your book, and good luck with the launch.

Nick 

[rewh2oman]

http://www.copyright.gov/ states that "book titles" can NOT be copyrighted.

In addition, SONG Titles can NOT be copyrighted either. So why would a book title?

...russ

[German Voodoo]

Thousands of books
thousands of titles.

"Untitled" is quite popular.
no suits from that, eh?

So long as the work is original, I don't even care about the title.

[Talisman]

If it is similar to another well known one then it might even help sales ! When I had my book launch the local paper printed a picture of a well known actress with similar name (June Brown from EastEnders) instead of me. Lots of poeple turned up thinking the book was written by her instead !!

June