Do Book Titles Come Under Trademark or Copyright?

When it comes to the discussion of intellectual property law, you have to understand the matter deeply regarding the topic of whether book titles come under trademark or copyright. If you study both intellectual property terms, you will observe that book titles do not come under copyright protection. However, they may quality trademark protection in certain circumstances. Hence, the distinction is crucial for authors, publishers, and anyone involved in the production or distribution of books.

Through this small discussion, you will get a clear idea of why book titles cannot come under copyright and go under the trademark in some special cases. Let’s learn more.

What is copyright protection? Can a Title Be Copyrighted?

Copyright is a form of protection that is supposed to provide some original works of authorship. The owner of a unique work like the writing of a book, special music, films, artwork, and similar other works can come under copyright. The purpose of copyright is to promote unique and special work and creativity. So, the author or creator will get copyright protection on their works. So, nobody can copy or imitate the works or tamper with the work as the work is protected by the copyright. Hence, a book title does not come under the copyright, as others can write a book under the same name under their ownership, where the internal content must be unique.

Book titles are the idea of what is expanded inside the book. The idea can be expressed and explained differently. Besides, book titles are too short and too generic to qualify as “original works of authorship.”. “To Kill a Mockingbird" or “The Catcher in the Rye” are more likely to have some words or phrases and genetics. So, they cannot be special creations of anybody for special creative work. 

On the other hand, if you go through the copyright law, you will notice that it protects the contents within the book, not the title or coverage name. Hence, the title does not go to the intellectual protection law. Besides, there are some limitations to this law. If every book title covers copyright protection, it will create confusion and kill the freedom of the creators. They will not find the names of their special books or creations. It is also quite impossible to find a name after searching, whether the name is copyright protected or not. Here, the contents of the book matter most.

While book titles are not eligible for copyright protection, the body of the book—its writing, illustrations, and layout—can be. If someone copies the illustration of a book, its printing style, font, or anything similar to a copyrighted book cover, they may be penalized under the intellectual property protection law.

What Is A Trademark, And Can A Title Be Copyrighted?

Trademark registration is a process to register any mark under the Trademark Registration Act of 1999. A sign, symbol, slogan, color, mark, or a combination of all of them can come under trademark protection. This indicates that the trademark is registered and nobody can copy it. If anybody infringes, they would be punished as per the law.

While book titles are not eligible for copyright protection, there is another avenue for protecting them, which is trademark registration law. Not all, but in some critical cases, a book title can be trademarked. A book title cannot be trademarked automatically. It must meet some criteria.

When a Book Title Can Be Eligible for Trademark Protection

• Distinctiveness:

If the book title is distinctive and can reproduce the source of the book and the contents of the book. Titles that are generic, commonly used, and descriptive are not likely to qualify for trademark registration and related protection. For example, “a handbook for restaurant cooking” may not be trademarked as it is generic.

On the other hand, when the book title is creative, unusual, or synonymous with the author, the publisher could be eligible for trademark registration. When the book title is unusual, creative, and synonymous with the author or the publisher, the title of the book can be trademarked as Harry Potter. Besides, it continues with the series of books, and it is a distinctive creation where the name “Harry Potter” reminds the series of books where Mr. Potter is the distinctive character.

• The Books with Secondary Meaning

A lot of creations or books give secondary meaning. The meaning of the phrases of the name may indicate an outer meaning which is general and not unique, but it might have a secondary meaning. Just notice the phrase “The Hunger Games”, you may notice that it has an outer meaning that may indicate a type of game. However, the name is associated with the book series and subsequent film adaptations. The name could qualify for its secondary meaning.

• Use in commerce

When any title of the book is created solely to be sold or marketed to the public may come under trademark registration. A book or story that is not released for public or marketing purposes cannot be brought under trademark registration. A short story or academic paper cannot go under trademark protection.

• Likelihood of Confusion

If there is a trademarked name of a book, and there is another book similarly named, the name of the second book will not be eligible for trademark registration. This may cause confusion between the two creations.

The Gray Area: Sequel Titles and Series

The book and its series or sequel can be trademarked when the part of the sequels is part of the main book. There are many instances in this regard. For example, the title “Harry Potter” series is trademarked. Even, the individual books under the series are also trademarked, such as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” which are protected by trademark.

Conclusion

Book titles are not eligible for copyright protection as they are not at all unique creations. Rather, they are the phrases or the collection of words that mean the extract of the book. On the other hand, the name or title of a book can be trademark-protected when they qualify for the specific terms. If you want trademark registration for the title of your unique book, you can contact Online Legal India. They are the best across India. Contact them today.