1. DarlingD

    DarlingD New Member

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    Title of book

    Discussion in 'Self-Publishing' started by DarlingD, Jul 9, 2013.

    I'm almost sure of the title for my book. I went on google to double check that nobody has published it already but it happens to be the name of a song. Does anyone know if I can still use it for my book or will I be violating a copyright?
     
  2. iolair

    iolair Active Member

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    Titles can't be copyrighted, apparently (this comes up here on a semi-regular basis). And there are definitely books out there that have the same titles as either other books or as songs (obviously that's not necessarily the best idea from a marketing point of view). So, unless your title is particularly likely to confuse someone, you can probably stick with it.

    If you're looking to get published, however, it's quite likely that your publisher will take charge of the title and override your choice.
     
  3. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    Yes, titles can't normally be copyrighted. They are too short. This is true of song titles as well as book titles. On the other hand, it is possible for elements of a title to serve as trademarks, and if that's the case you'll want to be careful about using something confusingly similar.
     
  4. DarlingD

    DarlingD New Member

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    Thanks guys your answers helped alot.
     

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