Selecting and protecting the title of your book how to use. 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. 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. 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. You cant trademark your book title, except when you can small. As an example, my book is basically something like, how to write the simpsons my question is, can i legally use this trademark the simpsons in my book title. Sep 09, 2009 the applicant has to be using the markthat is, the book titlefor at least three different products in that class. The applicant applied for the registration of book title the diary of anne frank and the diary of. This animated video explains how trademarks, patents. David koehser attorney at law 6122044567 trademarks and. So the ttab is saying that title is a synonym for name, which isnt very helpful.
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 how to make that title part of a book series. For example, chicken soup for the soul is a registered trademark, as is the dummies series of books. The title, or a portion of a title, of a single creative work such as a book must be refused registration under 1, 2, and 45 of the trademark act, 15 u. 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.
Klems is the online community editor of writers digest magazine. Only the way the title looks can be protected as a mark, such as the way the font, design and colors combine to. You cannot trademark the name of a single creative work. 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. A trademark or service mark includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish the goodsservices of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate the source of the goodsservices. For example, if you write one, individual book called i love trademarks, then you will not be able to trademark this title. In fact, the title of articles within a periodical can achieve registration with the uspto. A song title might gain some level of protection or exclusivity through the inclusion of a trademark in the title, such as a song named after a trademarked character from a famous book or movie, but the protection in such a context would arise from inclusion of that separate trademark. Trademark rights are assigned to the first person to stake a claim, so if youre choosing a title for your book, its valuable to see if anyone is using the title youre considering as a trademark before continuing with it. 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. May 30, 2019 even if you can t a book title, or the other items listed above, you can register the title as a trademark. Can i trademark a book title general rule is no for a single work.
Trademark basics trademark registration and advice. But you can trademark a title, which may give you the protection you seek. The title of a single book generally is not a trademark, but a precedential decision shows how it can be used to prevent someone else from registering the same term as a trademark for goods. This is the title of the specific work you want to register. Oct, 2009 so if you use the title of your book as the title of your blog, column, etc. Oct, 2014 if youre interested, you can have a look at 1 the opinion below, which found that such a title was indeed trademark infringement, 2 a post by daniel nazer of the eff about the case, or 3. It can also create opportunities for multiple passive income streams from licensing the sale of bookrelated merchandise and paraphernalia. A trademark may be able to protect your book title, but it is more difficult than you think. Trademark protection for book titles revision legal. As with many things legal, the answer comes down to a general rule and an exception.
At the point that your book title becomes a brand, it operates as the identifier of the source of all of the fabulous goods and services you offer under that brandconsulting, appearances, blogging, etc. Therefore, book, magazine, newspaper, encyclopedia, dictionary, cdrom, software and other print and electronic literary series title trademarks function in the same manner as the trademark for any other product or service in that the series title indicates to the purchasing public the source of the series. Usually when we think of trademarks, brand name products come to mind, like velcro, vespa, or valium. In my hypothetical, theres a book with the title x, written by an individual a. Examples of series titles that are registered as trademarks include the magazine title the sporting news and the book series title the magic school bus. A screening search will help you determine this information. The issue here is that the book is really focused on one show, not one genre, or even subgenre. 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. The reasoning behind this is that trademarks are really meant to. The title of a single work of authorship or creative work, such as a novel, is not eligible for trademark protection, but trademark protection may be available if the title is used to identify a series of such works. What do i do about another author telling me her trademark of. A series title can be protected as a trademark, and the trademark office will accept registration applications for series titles. If not in the title, what about in my book s pages.
Our trademark attorneys can answer any questions if you need help. The work to be registered could be one work, a collection of works such as an album or anthology, or an individual contribution appearing in a larger work such as one song from an album or one short story from an anthology. Generally, a trademark typically will not be granted to protect a book title, there are some exceptions. The general rule is that book titles unless part of a series cannot be registered as trademarks. 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. In order to protect your book title, you cannot rely on trade marks. While the laws vary from state to state, here, again, in order to prevail, a plaintiffauthor will likely have to prove that her title has acquired secondary meaning andor that the defendant adopted his confusingly similar title with the intention of deceiving book buyers into believing that his book was somehow connected with plaintiffs book. One of the most common questions about trademarks i answer on a daily basis is if one can trademark a book title or not. Find me online at prospective clients often contact me because they want to register a book title as a trademark.
And if you find success, you could qualify for trademark protection. However, given the point of a trademark is to provide the consumer with a certainty over the origin of the product, if the single title book looked too similar to the trademarked series, then the trademark owner could still argue it was a case of passing off i. Systematic misuse of a trademark can result in the term becoming generic. In general, you cant trademark book and movie titles at all, which is why there are often multiple books or movies. Trademark rights protect the logos, symbols and textual representations that uniquely identify goods in commerce. Title of a single work refusal and how to overcome this. If you are writing a book, learning about s is vital. So, back to your album title i think unless youre planning on putting out a series of albums all under the same brand like a series of volumes, youll have a hard time. May, 2010 a distinguished member of the spicy ip blog team has written to the ipkat and his readers for a second opinion.
They could be a series of books, or a book, a workbook, and a supplement to the book, or a series of books, but theres not really a way to protect the title of a single book, either through trademark or through. Aug 12, 2016 a trademark may be able to protect your book title, but it is more difficult than you think. Registration for trademark protection is generally limited to brand names, slogans and logos used in commerce. But a book title can, under certain circumstances, find protection via the trademark laws, making it one of a writers most valuable intellectual property assets. A great title can contribute tremendously to a books success. Oct 23, 20 selling a lot of copies of a single book does not turn a title into a trademark because it is still functioning simply as a title of a single work and hence more confusion about which law protects. Sep 09, 2016 and, in the case in question, the court still ruled that the title was merely descriptive, and wasnt being used in a way that could justify trademark protection.
Heres why you cant a book title, but why you can probably trademark that title. Registering your trademark in that brand name will make sure that other people cant also use it as a brand name although they could also use it as a book title and reap the rewards of. In the case of anne frank fords trade mark application reported in 2015 r. The arrangement of words in a book title cannot be trademarked. More detail about trademark registration can be found on our website here. 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. Registering your trademark in that brand name will make sure that other people cant also use it as a brand name although they could also. Aug 29, 2017 so, can title of a book distinguish itself from that of a book of another publisher or can it acquire a distinctive character of the book. You cant trademark your book title, except when you can. Even if you can t a book title, or the other items listed above, you can register the title as a trademark. This is a hint at why most of the time you cant trademark your book title.
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. But you cant trademark the name of one single book. 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. 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. Hard copy articles can achieve registration if they. Learn whether or not you can trademark your book title or a series of books. A great title can contribute tremendously to a book s success. However, you can trademark a book title if you write a series of books using that title.
May 11, 2016 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. Oct 22, 20 a series of creative works, however, such as the title of a series of books, periodicals, or newspapers, title of a magazine, television series, or related movies, can achieve trademark registration. May 04, 2018 trademark law does not permit using trademarks to prevent others from using an existing word in its ordinary, descriptive meaning. 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. According to, a trademark can create opportunities for multiple passive income streams from licensing the sale of bookrelated merchandise and paraphernalia.
The title of a single creative work is not registrable on either the principal or supplemental. For example, if you write one, individual book called i love trademarks. Copyright and trademark protections for song titles and lyrics. Words such as aspirin, cellophane, and elevator slipped into the public domain because of improper usage.