Are book titles Coined?

1. 66

   ThompsonPenposted 12 years ago

   Are book titles Coined?
   
   I was reading through one of my stories and I found the sentence "wandering through my own doors of perception", and while I adore the hell out of that sentence, I'm wondering if the book title "Doors of Perception" is copy written or patented. Are book titles patented when they are copy written?

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2. 47

   Ericdierkerposted 12 years ago

   Although there are exceptions to every rule. Generally images and writings are copyrighted. Patents are for things and processes. I fun thing to do is peruse Bibles. They are copyrighted. Which means that each has to have substantial differences from the others.
   In the US courts have dealt with the issue of titles. And again generally, they may not be protected by a copyright.
   I hope that helps a little.

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3. 79

   alancaster149posted 12 years ago

   On the Amazon 'bookshelf' there are several books with the main title 'OUTCAST', only the subtitle differentiates them. And that's before my third book 'OUTCAST' is listed by my publisher! The subtitle is 'Storm in the Kingdom', so I daresay that's the clincher.
   A long time ago I wrote a story titled 'The Day Before Yesterday', and found there already was a book by that title. Even 'The Day Before' had been taken.
   My first published title, however, was unique:  'RAVENFEAST - Farewell to Legend'. The second, 'OVERTHROWN' again was only different to already published books in its subtitle: 'The Dream Fades'.
   Hopefully I won't have any problems with my next one (I'm not going to let on about the title now).

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   1. 79

      alancaster149posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      PS The expression is 'copyrighted', i.e., 'the right to copy'

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4. 0

   sheilamyersposted 12 years ago

   I haven't done a lot of research on it, but I don't believe you can copyright a title. As Alan said, I've seen several books with the same title. If you like the phrase and want to use it as a title, I'd suggest "My Own Doors of Perception". That would make it different and avoid a conflict if the other is copyrighted.
   
   One thing I was taught when I first started getting ready to self-publish was that your title should never be the same as that of another book that has already been published. Let's say someone reads your book and tells their friends they should read it. If those people don't remember your name, they might find the other book (with the same title) and buy it instead of yours. Only use the same title if you just can't possibly live with another title.

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