Is it stealing ?

[irthlingz]

I was wondering if it is stealing others property, if I take a line out of a published poem and use it as a title for a whole song ? I remember Kenny Chesney did a song called "You Had Me At Hello", inspired from the movie Jerry McGuire . Did he ask permission?

Anyway, just wondering.

Tom

Interestingly, the song is actually "You Had Me From Hello". Maybe they changed that one word partly out of concern about copyright?
Michael
===

[superblonde]

Interestingly, the song is actually "You Had Me From Hello". Maybe they changed that one word partly out of concern about copyright?

When Metallica wrote the song "Call of Cthulhu" the producers purposely renamed it to "Call of Ktulu" out of copyright concerns. So it appears that way on their album and in the liner notes. That's a real industry example of protecting self from suit.

(These days the copyright on Cthulhu has apparently expired so many other artists use it freely now)

[PeterDeZ]

My advise is, There are plenty of entertainment lawyers that would give you a rock solid reply with any and or all the implications borrowing would have. I would fork out the 100 or 200$ to be 100% sure of the do’s and don’t’ s of borrowing. Chances are, your “most likely” ok to borrow, but you really want to take a risk that maybe they come after you one day when you least expect it?

[Zaychi]

Years ago I read a poem titled "The Pripet Marshes". I liked the style and the story of the poem. It inspired me to compose a purely instrumental piece based on the story, and I gave it the same title. Then I sent a recording of the music to the poet, and I think he appreciated it.

A good example of what isn't copyrightable. The Pripet Marshes is a place in Eastern Europe; going for a copyright lawsuit would be the same as trying to sue for a song called "Mississippi" or "Moscow".