Rock Springs, WY asked in Copyright and Trademark for Wyoming

Q: Hey, if i wanted to write a book titled A Hero's Journey would I be able to do it or is it trademark infringement?

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1 Lawyer Answer
John Martin Hilla
John Martin Hilla
Answered
  • Trademarks Lawyer
  • Livonia, MI

A: Book titles cannot be registered as Federal trademarks unless they are attached to a series of books or editions. Titles also cannot be copyrighted.

Here, you are proposing, however, to write a book with a title that shared with an extremely famous book: The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell. This book has been sold in a multitude of editions in many languages throughout the world for many years. It has been made into a PBS mini-series, among other things, and it is routinely used as text material in college classes. It is possible that, given its many iterations and the products that have been marketed on behalf of at least the estate of Joseph Campbell, that it has been registered as a trademark.

Specific legal advice is not provided through this site, and I am not going to run a trademark search to answer a question here. If you are dead-set on using this title, I would contact a trademark and copyright lawyer to discuss the potential pitfalls in a private consultation.

Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp agrees with this answer

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