Welcome to Writing Forums, one of the fastest growing writing communties on the web.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and photo galleries. By joining our free community you will
be able to talk with other writers, get feedback on your work to improve your writing skills, discuss ideas, share tips & tricks, network and make friends!
Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support.
| Tips & Advice Share your tips, tricks and advice. |
11-03-2007, 04:25 PM
|
#1
|
|
Prolific Writer
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Gender: Male
Posts: 464
|
I have a title for my book, but ...
I don't know much about copyrights.
Since the book is shaping up to a collection of short shorts that are cynical/chastising in nature, I thought of the title "And I say to myself."
Now, the title is based on the song "What a Wonderful World." Upon googling, I see that it's the title of a David Bowie song, but I cannot find a book with this title. Does this mean the title is fair game for a book? How does that work?
|
|
|
|
11-03-2007, 11:30 PM
|
#2
|
|
Ink Slinger
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Melbourne Australia
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,065
|
Titles can't be copyrighted, I believe, let alone a line from a lyric. Even if a book was already called that, it would still be fine (and if not, your publishers would change it).
Keep the title as is.
__________________
'Beauty stands and waits with gravity to start her death-defying leap. And he, a little charleychaplin man, who may or may not catch her fair eternal form spreadeagled in the empty air of existence.' - Laurence Felinghetti, 'The Acrobat'
|
|
|
|
|
11-04-2007, 12:38 AM
|
#3
|
|
Prolific Writer
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Gender: Male
Posts: 464
|
Oops, the lyric is actually "And I think to myself"
But that's cool, i'm glad I can use that title.
|
|
|
|
|
11-04-2007, 03:57 AM
|
#4
|
|
Wordsmith
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: South-east UK
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,844
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisajane
Titles can't be copyrighted, I believe, let alone a line from a lyric.
|
Titles can't, lyrics most definitely can be and are covered by copyright. |
|
|
|
|
11-04-2007, 06:46 AM
|
#5
|
|
Prolific Writer
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 288
|
Hmm, but there are so many books called, Politics, or Law etc.. I think maybe you can have the same title. You may have to check with a publisher/lawyer, not 100% on this one.
|
|
|
|
|
11-04-2007, 08:01 AM
|
#6
|
|
Manager
Manager
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Great White North
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,313
|
Lyrics aren't my area, but I have to wonder about the single line.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by US Copyright Office
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
-Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
|
[ source]
Short phrases--wouldn't a line from a song qualify? The reason it applies to titles and short phrases is because their nature allows for the likelihood of several different people putting the same words together in the same combination. That's why Trump couldn't have "You're fired" copyrighted.
"I like cake" might be a line from a song, but I could not have it copyrighted.
Maybe you could elaborate, Mike? I'd like to learn a little more about why the copyright for lyrics is different as applied here.
__________________
"...make your own nature, not the advice of others, your guide in life." --Pythia, Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
I'm here.
|
|
|
|
|
11-04-2007, 08:41 AM
|
#7
|
|
Wordsmith
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: South-east UK
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,844
|
If a short phrase - say, "you're fired" - is in common useage, copyright obviously does not apply. If, however, it is an original line and as such directly attributable to the original author - say Floyd's "Oh and by the way, which one's Pink?" it's copyrighted just the same as if it was a line from a novel. If you want to use it, ask permission.
|
|
|
|
|
11-04-2007, 09:18 PM
|
#8
|
|
Ink Slinger
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Melbourne Australia
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,065
|
I realised that the entire set of lyrics in a song would be copyrighted of course, but I wouldn't have thought that a single line of lyric could be... strange. Either way, yeah, ask permission.
__________________
'Beauty stands and waits with gravity to start her death-defying leap. And he, a little charleychaplin man, who may or may not catch her fair eternal form spreadeagled in the empty air of existence.' - Laurence Felinghetti, 'The Acrobat'
|
|
|
|
|
11-05-2007, 01:21 AM
|
#9
|
|
Scribe
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Pittsburgh
Gender: Male
Posts: 69
|
Could go either way on this. I'm not a lawyer, but if I were in your shoes, unless you are completely absolutely sold on that title... think of a new one, an alternative one, or a rewording/rephrasing of it. Personally, and this is without reading your stories or ANYTHING, it doesn't grab me. Take that with a grain of salt, the whole adage "don't judge a book by it's cover" thing, but I think you could do better for a title. Nevermind the fact that if it gets picked up for publication, that name could change anyway.
And a slight tangent, Square-Enix is trying to figure out how a localization of their action RPG game "It's A Wonderful World" would be titled should it be ported overseas to the US, as .... well that's a copyrighted movie title. Think of a few backup names would be my suggestion, just in case.
|
|
|
|
|
11-05-2007, 03:30 AM
|
#10
|
|
Wordsmith
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: South-east UK
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,844
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisajane
I realised that the entire set of lyrics in a song would be copyrighted of course, but I wouldn't have thought that a single line of lyric could be... strange. Either way, yeah, ask permission.
|
I'm basing my post on the recent experience of other authors who have quoted lines from songs in their novels; the going rate is around $500 per line.
Far better to sort out permissions at this stage than to get published (assuming that a publisher would let it go, which they wouldn't), achive some success, then see all your royalties evaporate in a big lawsuit.
That having been said, the publisher is likely to change the title anyway, so don't sweat it too much. |
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:52 PM. Powered by vBulletin, Copyright ©2000-2007, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.1.0
|
|
Newsletter |
 |
|
Subscribe to Majestic
the official newsletter of Writing Forums and lit.org
|
|
Link to Us: 
|
|
