I recently received a phone call from a new client. He had just finished a new screenplay and was worried that someone would release a movie with the same title before he did.
This is a common situation and one which I know many screenwriters struggle with. They struggle for days to find the perfect title for their film and then lay awake in fear over someone else using it. So let me put your minds at ease. Stop worrying! First of all, as a general rule, you cannot trademark the title of a single work, whether it is a movie or a book. You can only trademark a series of movies, which is why Star Wars, Harry Potter , and Friday the 13 th are registered trademarks and Transcendence is not.
Are there exceptions to this rule? If a film has become so famous that basically everyone knows that the film comes from a certain source, then a single film might have some protection. And Disney was recently able to stop the release of a knockoff film originally called The Legend of Sarila but which changed the title to Frozen Land to capitalize on the Disney hit.
But films like these are few and far between. But really, the reason you need to stop worrying about your title is that you are forgetting what the purpose of the title is and who it is for. Your job is not to come up with a movie title that will look good on a poster or a theater marquee. Your job is to come up with a title that will help get your script sold! The title of your script gives you the first occasion to speak directly to the potential buyer, before they have been tainted by anything else.
Use this opportunity to grab their attention and make them want to know more about your screenplay. One of the best examples of a writer using the title to send a creative message is Adam Herz, writer of American Pie.
