Song Title/Lyric

[amgamg]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I would like to use a partial lyric in a book and have reached out to the company to make an initial inquiry about permissions. However, since the process will surely take time, and since it is a little bit of a strange situation, I wanted to see if it is even necessary.

The single lyric that I would like to use exactly matches one of the "alternate titles" of the song, as listed on ASCAP. It is my understanding that titles can not be copyrighted. The song's official title, as I've seen it on CD covers, is only four words long (out of the eight words in the alternate title). I do not know if "alternate titles" on ASCAP also apply to copyright law as a title.

Do I need permissions to use an "alternate title" of a song?

If not, am I limited to use the eight words in quotations as a title, alongside the band's name, or can I use those eight words in Italics as a song lyric? In other words, if it is okay to use the alternate title, must it be used as a title, or can those title words be referred to as the only words used within the song lyric?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I would like to use a partial lyric in a book and have reached out to the company to make an initial inquiry about permissions. However, since the process will surely take time, and since it is a little bit of a strange situation, I wanted to see if it is even necessary.

The single lyric that I would like to use exactly matches one of the "alternate titles" of the song, as listed on ASCAP. It is my understanding that titles can not be copyrighted. The song's official title, as I've seen it on CD covers, is only four words long (out of the eight words in the alternate title). I do not know if "alternate titles" on ASCAP also apply to copyright law as a title.

Do I need permissions to use an "alternate title" of a song?

If not, am I limited to use the eight words in quotations as a title, alongside the band's name, or can I use those eight words in Italics as a song lyric? In other words, if it is okay to use the alternate title, must it be used as a title, or can those title words be referred to as the only words used within the song lyric?

Thank you in advance for your help.

You are asking your question without really giving us proper context, so its difficult to answer you. In general no matter what you quote and from whom or from where, proper citation needs to be made. Context is also very important.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I would like to use a partial lyric in a book and have reached out to the company to make an initial inquiry about permissions. However, since the process will surely take time, and since it is a little bit of a strange situation, I wanted to see if it is even necessary.

The single lyric that I would like to use exactly matches one of the "alternate titles" of the song, as listed on ASCAP. It is my understanding that titles can not be copyrighted. The song's official title, as I've seen it on CD covers, is only four words long (out of the eight words in the alternate title). I do not know if "alternate titles" on ASCAP also apply to copyright law as a title.

Do I need permissions to use an "alternate title" of a song?

If not, am I limited to use the eight words in quotations as a title, alongside the band's name, or can I use those eight words in Italics as a song lyric? In other words, if it is okay to use the alternate title, must it be used as a title, or can those title words be referred to as the only words used within the song lyric?

Thank you in advance for your help.

You are right that titles and short phrases are generally not protectable under copyright laws. There is generally not enough originality or creativity tat can be shown to qualify for protection. Titles and short phrases can, however, be covered under trademark laws. Therefore, the specific title in question becomes important.

What also matters is the purpose of your use. Copyrighted material, including song lyrics, can often be partially quoted in a book. This can fall under copyright law's "fair use" exception to the use of copyrighted material. Fair use, however, is an affirmative defense to the use of someone else's material and is not permission to use it. Guidelines published by the Copyright Office, and case law, must be relied on to determine if a particular use could be considered a fair use or not.

What needs to be looked at in your case is the nature of the work not only being created by you but also the nature of the work being quoted, and the amount or substantiality of the portion of the copyrighted work you wish to quote, and the effect of your use on the value of or the market for the copyrighted work.

Having a character in a book singing a few lines of a song might not be a problem. Having a character in a book singing the entire song probably would be a problem. And, of course, anything at all can be a problem if the copyright holder sees it as a problem.

Because so much is dependent on the particular facts involved, you will probably need the specifics personally reviewed by an attorney in your area, although your first instinct - to contact the copyright holder for permission to use the copyrighted work - is a good one. If permission is granted by the copyright holder, you have eliminated the risks of a lawsuit.

 

[FlyingRon]

Attribution doesn't get you anything with respect to copyright infringement. Attribution is often a condition of getting permission. When the phrase is sufficiently famous, unless you do something to represent it as original, it's not even an "academic" issue even if you don't provide an attribution. For example, if I were to tell you, as the song says, "You can't always get what you want," it is not likely an issue. What you are looking for is Fair Use as Quincy has explained.

 

[quincy]

Attribution doesn't get you anything with respect to copyright infringement. Attribution is often a condition of getting permission. When the phrase is sufficiently famous, unless you do something to represent it as original, it's not even an "academic" issue even if you don't provide an attribution. ...

Right. How widely recognized the quote is can make a difference. If famous enough, it can often be presumed that others know the source of the quote.

Where attribution could potentially help is in the determination of damages in an infringement suit. If you have attributed the source, this can work to mitigate any damages awarded (although this is not guaranteed).

And there is no requirement at all for attribution if the work is in the public domain (Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 539 U.S. 23, 2003).

 

[amgamg]

Playing it Safe

Thank you so much to all of you for your thoughts and advice. Going to play it safe on this one and create some new lyrics somewhat reminiscent of the ones I'd hoped to use, but with a fictional band name and fictional lyrics. (This is for a Middle Grade fictional novel.)

It was definitely not public domain material (too new), and the fact the lyric matches the title would have been my reason for questioning if it would be fair use. Better safe than sorry. I truly appreciate all of your input!

 

[quincy]

Thank you so much to all of you for your thoughts and advice. Going to play it safe on this one and create some new lyrics somewhat reminiscent of the ones I'd hoped to use, but with a fictional band name and fictional lyrics. (This is for a Middle Grade fictional novel.)

It was definitely not public domain material (too new), and the fact the lyric matches the title would have been my reason for questioning if it would be fair use. Better safe than sorry. I truly appreciate all of your input!

Although there are ways to use the copyrighted works of others without infringing, creating your own lyrics for a fictional band is the best way to ensure your work does not attract the attention of a potentially-litigious copyright holder.

You are smart to be concerned about infringing on the copyrighted works of others.

Good luck with your novel, amgamg. And thanks for the thanks. We appreciate them.