Are book titles copywritten?

Question

I know that song titles can't be copywritten. That's why there are several songs with the same title.
I've written a book with a perfect title, today I found out that there's another book with a similiar theme with almost the exact same title. That book was not a big seller and came out in April, 2003.
Can I use the title again?

I just read your first 4 answers. Thanks.
The story is completely different it's the subject that is the same. If it's a story about cooking he wrote his memoir about being a chef in New York City. My book is a series of interviews of the best known chefs in Los Angelos.
Thanks Again

Answer 1

nope

I mean yes, you can use it. Book titles are not copyrighted.

Answer 2

I doubt it. Someone recently wrote a book called The Conscience of a Liberal, the same title as a book that came out a few years ago from a different author.

I think they could only claim that you copied them if your story is very similar to theirs, and prove that you knew about their story beforehand (coincidences do happen.) But it's the story that matters, not so much the title.

Are you talking about Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain? There was also a short lived TV series based on that book, with the same title. It's actually pretty well known among people who cook.

For a good example of the same title, same subject, different story, look at No Reservations. There is the TV show, starring Anthony Bourdain. He is a chef who visits cities all over the world, tasting the local food and meeting the local people. Then there is the movie, starring Catharine Zeta Jones, and I think its about two chefs who fall in love.

Answer 3

As long as your story does not fallow the exact outline of the other story you can use the title. Titles of things like books, movies and Songs can't be copy written unless they Paton them. That is rare. Like you can't use Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or High School Musical, or The Da Vince Code.

Answer 4

Yes, titles can not be copy written!