Movie copyright potential dispute

[Wassdeet]

CA

I wrote, produced and directed a movie in 1980 with a title called Spookymovie (not real name). Now it's possibly going to a sequel Spookymovie2. There is an artist who has a website Spookymovie.com that has nothing to do with my movie at all. It's an artist with no connection. The name "Spookymovie" is actually a family name and a singer who's last name is "Spookymovie". My question is; can I use an alternative for my movie, Spookymovie2themovie.com?

I hold the copyright by the copyright laws of Canada where it was made if that means anything.

 

[justalayman]

Do Canadian copyright laws allow you to copyright a title to a movie? I know US law doesn't.

 

[Wassdeet]

Do Canadian copyright laws allow you to copyright a title to a movie? I know US law doesn't.

No, can't copyright a title, but I realized this was more of an issue of domain... if the other person uses the name, can I get a domain with more words?

 

[quincy]

The answer to justalayman's question is no.

The movie itself is copyrighted, but the title can only be protected through trademark, and trademarking a title is possible if a series in involved (for example: "A Series of Unfortunate Events" or "Little House on the Prairie" or "Harry Potter"). With the title serving as an identifier for a movie series, Wassdeet can potentially prevent others from using the same name, if another's use of the name causes consumer confusion.

The cornerstone of trademark law is consumer confusion and if the dual uses of the name "Spookymovie" causes confusion as to origin, then a lawsuit can result.

As for domain names, if the artist is using "spookymovie" and your use of a similar domain name confuses consumers (once again with consumer confusion), then you may lose rights to the domain name. But it really depends on all of the facts surrounding your use of the name and the artist's use of the name. There are several similar domain names that exist together with no problem.

Wassdeet, you should probably sit down with an attorney in your area and go over what your movie and website plans are, and let the attorney review the history of use of the name by the artist. If more than one country is involved, then it will require some effort to determine who owns what rights where.