View Full Version : Legal question about title of documentary


Kevin Lewis
May 4th, 2009, 06:59 PM
Im currently working on a documentary and I need to come up with a title for it. Does the copyright laws have an impact on what I can use as a title for the documentary. I did some research and it appears that this is not an issuie because titles cant be copyrighted. Does anyone have any input on this?

Richard Alvarez
May 5th, 2009, 09:55 AM
True enough, you cannot copyright a title. Be carefull about titles that might be TRADEMARKED though. Titles like "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" are trademarked. So there might be some exposure in using trademarks.

Kevin Lewis
May 5th, 2009, 12:02 PM
Thanks Richard! Much appreciated. Is there some sort of database where I can reference names that are trademarked?

Rick L. Allen
May 5th, 2009, 12:45 PM
Im currently working on a documentary and I need to come up with a title for it. I did some research and it appears that this is not an issuie because titles cant be copyrighted. Does anyone have any input on this?

Actually not true. If a cable or over the air network is interested in the documentary then you'll have to have an attorney do a search and render an opinion on whether you'll be in legal jeopardy if you use a title used by someone else. It's an expensive waste of money because attorney's opinions are often contrary to other attorney's opinions (go figure) but the networks will often require this exercise in futility to cover their butts from other attorneys.