Title question

Those are usually copyrighted. Someone else would know for sure...

I would guess it might depend on whether said slogan was a recognizable saying before it became a slogan, or if it's something that could reasonably be uttered as a phrase that doesn't reference said company.

"Go Further" maybe (that's a Ford slogan).

"Coke is it" almost certainly not.

BUT I'm not an attorney, and if you're thinking of self publishing a book with such a title, you might want to talk to one. Note, there shouldn't be an issue with using something branded as a working title prior to publication. I am guessing agents and publishers would have access to people who advise them about possible legal issues like this with titles.

I'd err on the side of caution if self publishing, though.

Trademark protection covers the registered use of an expression, name or symbol associated with a certain kind of product or service. As just one example, Donald Trump obtained trademark protection for his famous "You're fired!" statement from the Apprentice tv show, as associated with a video game based on the show. Meaning that if you created a similar video game, you could not legally use that expression. But you can use it in everday life, in fiction writing, etc., with no attendant trouble, as long as it was clearly not associated with Trump's game.

How this applies to your title question, I don't know. Me, I'd find another title and avoid any even remotely potential problem.

caw

If you are aiming for a publisher then go ahead and use the title if you really want to. The publisher will decide how to handle the situation. Draw their attention to the matter of course when you've signed. Till then the point is a bit moot.

On the one hand, copyright. Lawyers, legal challenge, costs, not nice.

On the other hand, you want people to be able to find your book in a search engine. If it has a unique title then you've got a good chance of coming at or near the top of the list. If you borrow a corporate slogan then the search results are going to be dominated by corporate bullsh (technical term).

Hey, both of those hands are pointing in the same direction...

spikeman4444 said:

I know that ultimately the writer has little say about choosing a title, and that it can change and that in terms of writing, it's of little importance in terms of finishing the story, but my question is this:

Can your title be a company slogan. Not as common as "Just Do It" but along these same lines, or would the publisher avoid this because of legal reasons? Just curious, because I have a title idea but I saw it in a commercial for a company using the line as a sort of tagline or whatever for their company.

Click to expand...

Company slogans are trademarked, but this does not automatically mean you can't use them. Writers use trademarked items in fiction all the time. "Pepsi" is a trademarked word, but I can still use it in a novel.

Trademark means a word or phrase cannot be used in a way that would confuse the trademark owner's business your your own. The only book I know that uses such a slogan is one that has a subtitle. It's called Just Do It: How one couple turned off the TV and Turned On Their Sex Lives for 101 Days.

Only the publisher knows for sure, but you can submit a book with any title you like. It's true that writers don't have a lot of control over titles, but it's also true that publishers don't automatically change titles. If they like your title, they'll keep it. I've had only one title on anything changed in thirty-five years, and that proved to be a mistake, which may be why publishers haven't changed another.

At any rate, there is no law against using trademarks, as long as doing so does not confuse readers into believing that the trademark owner's business is somehow associated with the book. Go ahead and use whatever title you like, and let the publisher worry about it.