Can I copyright a book with a similar title name from a previous work I did?

Question

My previous book that I copyrighted was titled - "Into the Dust" and my new title for my new book is "Into the Dust: The Search for the Truth"

Is it okay to have a separate copyright for the second title as they are both different books and I want to keep the original name.

Answer 1

You can't copyright a title so sure, you can use the same title with a subtitle. Many series books do that. To ease confusion, though, you may want to just make "Into the Dust" the series title and then use individual titles for the others. Makes it easier for people to find the book in libraries and bookstores. Sometimes if you use the series title first the rest is cut off in the listing so if a person sees "Into the Dust" and "Into the Dust: the" they may not know which book to get. Check amazon. com and look at some series books.

Books by different authors can use the same titles. Patricia Cornwell has a best seller with Book of the Dead which was the title of a best seller last year by Preston and probably several others.

Answer 2

Of course! Many series books have the original title in them. Just make sure you add something to the title! HEre are some examples:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

OR

Harry Potter I
Harry Potter II

OR

Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire

Good luck!

If you need anything else just send me a message!

-Science Tigger

Answer 3

The general rule of law is an author/composer cannot by definition infringe their own work. That means you can use a similar or even identical title. This happens often for musical compositions, the author may re-use themes or passages in their later works. Your publishers might not like it, you should confer with them as they are the ones that will be paying you royalties.

Answer 4

Sure. Titles are not copyrightable. You could copyright your book and call it "A Tale of Two Cities" or "Mystic River" and there'd be no legal consequences, although of course those would be poor marketing decisions.