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The government's UK copyright law site outlines the IPO and Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the principal legislation covering intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom and the work to which it applies.

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BJG145

Joined: 06/08/05
Posts: 2159
Loc: Norwich UK

Album title - copyright, etc
#945593 - 06/10/11 10:55 AM

I was considering nicking the title of a 1974 book as an album title, though I just noticed there are a couple of minor releases that have had the same idea.

You'll probably tell me to come up with something more original - but out of interest, though, is adopting a book title for an album technically OK/legal, or is it unwise...?

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GlynB

Joined: 26/09/03
Posts: 3906
Loc: Lancashire, UK.

Re: Album title - copyright, etc new

[Re: BJG145]
#945599 - 06/10/11 11:10 AM

It would depend on how regonisable the title is and how specific, and whether it could be claimed that you were passing off your work as somehow connected with the previous work.

For example if you titled your album 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy' it scould be argued by the publishers that you are trying to gain advantage by passing your work off as somehow associuated with the well known book/TV show/Film etc.

If you called your album 'A Guide To The Galaxies' you might be safe.

So you see, it depends!

Try googling the title you have in mind. if it has been used in verious ways for various products of different types by differing authors, over different times, you'd probablly be ok as a precedent has been already set.

But...that said...why not try to be original...there i said it!

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MarkOne

Joined: 15/02/07
Posts: 951
Loc: Bristol, England, Earth, Perus...

Re: Album title - copyright, etc new

[Re: BJG145]
#945637 - 06/10/11 01:20 PM

The 70s prog band Camel wanted to call their 1975 album 'The Snow Goose' However Paul Gallico the author of the short story on which it was based, didn't like the music and threatened to sue for copyright infringement. However they added (in quite small letters) 'Music Inspired By' and apparently that was OK.

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New album 'Fantasy Bridge' available now!
Making of Fantasy Bridge Diary

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tomafd

Joined: 03/10/05
Posts: 3468
Loc: uk

Re: Album title - copyright, etc new

[Re: BJG145]
#945647 - 06/10/11 01:44 PM

Same deal as for sampling- well known book ? Big writer ? Probably best avoid.

Otherwise - if it's an obscure jobbie from a tiny publisher, not a well known writer, you can either just go for it and take the hit if they sue, or contact them- if they still exist- and see if they're OK about it. They might let you do it anyway, just in case you go viral and they get a little bump in sales.

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http://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/ http://anotherfineday.co.uk http://apollomusic.co.uk

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