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Is My Product Title Illegal?

by James Liberty
16 replies
I just found a hot selling book on Amazon.com and I'd like to write something similar for internet marketers. I was thinking about using the same book title but inserting the letters "I.M." in front of it.

So for example, if there was a popular book titled "Super Rich" I would be titling my book "I.M. Super Rich".

Is this legal?
#illegal #product #title
  • Profile picture of the author FrankRumbauskas
    Yes, as long as the book title is not trademarked, and very few are as book trademarks are VERY difficult to get.

    The opinion of the US Patent & Trademark Office is that book titles may be used more than once by different people. They will only grant a trademark if a book title is an established series such as the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" series.

    The copyright on the book only applies to the text, not the title.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Liberty
    Thanks, Frank.

    Anyone else happen to know anything about this?
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Taylor
    He's right...titles are not subject to copyright protection. Titles may, however, be trademarked.
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  • Profile picture of the author jazzyjeff
    James,

    You should be fine as long as the title isn't taken up by anyone yet. Also, if the contents are in the similar field and it is not plagiarized, then that is also fine.

    One interesting note that I read somewhere a long time ago: the trademark service says it is ok to use the same branded word (but not logo or service) for some other company. The example that they gave was Nike. If you are not making shoes and do not have their logo, you can use the name. If you have a company named Nike that sells computers, you are ok. I was really surprised by that.

    Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author blairezon blenn
    They are totally right James... Be cautious, just do the right thing and everything will be smooth and firm...

    B
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  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author Jared Alberghini
      Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

      "Is this legal" <-- Worst question you could ask in a public forum,

      Now that you've gotten a few opinions, take the next step - find a lawyer in your community who specializes in this area and pay for their advice. I suggest you prepare an outline of the proposed book and a general description for them to work with.

      Play it safe - don't bank on the answers here (although there were some great ones given)...and get proper legal advice.
      lol I agree with Big Mike...

      If you have to ask, you probably already know the answer... seek proper legal council.

      - Jared
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      • Profile picture of the author FrankRumbauskas
        Agreed! $200 spent on a phone consultation with a good intellectual property attorney today may save you thousands in legal fees down the road....
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  • Profile picture of the author James A. Miller
    Titles aren't copyrightable and there's no sense in paying anyone for such basic advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author teajay
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Titles are safe.

      I agree, the only thing you need to research is for a trademark of some kind possibly - depending on what it is you're doing.

      If you are thinking to write "IM for Dummies" for example, you may have some issues with that. There is a little circle with an "r" in it if you go to the dummies dot com site. Easy tip off with that one.

      Look at all the movies that share titles. It's not about the title so much as what people are trademarking these days.
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  • Profile picture of the author schabotte
    Titles - unless trademarked - cannot be copyrighted.

    However title logos/artwork if creative can be copyrighted.

    A title is generally considered a short phrase and not unique enough to be given copyright protection.

    However, there are some instances where a phrase has been deemed to be covered by copyright but they need to be shown to be highly creative and well known literary phrases. For example "E.T. phone home" is afforded copyright protection.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Liberty
    I just looked up the trademark. The exact phrase I'm using is not trademarked... but some similar phrases are.

    For example, if I want to use the phrase "Super Rich", there is not a trademark on that phrase. However, there are trademarks for phrases like "Super Rich for Kids" and "Super Rich Systems".

    Some legal advice might be good for me... but I'd sure hate to shell out $200 for what will likely be a three minute phone conversation.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Good question!

      Is there a lawyer around who could consult about this? I seem to remember a lawyer by the name of Silber, right? Didn't he used to come here?

      Maybe you could go to him.

      Michelle
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  • Profile picture of the author Cash Blasters Online
    If the title is the idea and copyrighted, then I wouldn't try it.
    In other words, if the title is part of the product, then don't try it.
    Maybe re-arrange the words.
    You must remember someone else aready was there before you.
    It's like song writers wishing they wrote that great song, that someone else wrote, but witha creative mind maybe a better song can be written, all we have to do is try .
    Anyways Good Luck
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