copyright on titles?

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If I want to add a short film which title is the same as a feature film - am I allowed to add the film or is the title copyrighted??

btw to specify the movie is "the last station"

Amalie Lorentzen

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Posted 7 years ago

7 years ago

bluesmanSF, Champion

10815 Posts
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Titles are not copyrighted. There are many duplicate titles for films. For instance, see the list of movies called "Titanic." http://www.imdb.com/find?q=titanic&s=all

They'd be listed in the database by title first, then year, to distinguish one from the other. If there are more than one from one year, there'd be a Roman numeral to distinguish them. Like:

My Movie (1953)
My Movie (2013/I)
My Movie (2013/II)

See format guideline http://www.imdb.com/help/search?domai...

A new "The Last Station" would have the year after the title, in which it was first shown.

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2013-05-06T03:12:17+00:00

Dan Dassow, Champion

16662 Posts
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The US Library of Congress administers US copyright. According to the online publication, "Copyright Basics" [http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01...]

What is Not Protected by Copyright?

Several categories of material are generally not eligible for
federal copyright protection. These include among others:

...

* titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols
or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation,
lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents

....

2013-05-06T03:32:52+00:00

Emperor, Champion

6418 Posts
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You can trademark a title if it is unique enough, but not forever. Marvel are still laughing up their sleeve about how they managed to steal the Captain Marvel trademark and they go to great lengths to ensure it doesn't lapse.