Are we running out of simple book names ?

Lynn McGuire

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Jan 31, 2012, 5:34:13 PM1/31/12

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Are we running out of simple book names ?

I just noted that John Varley is releasing a new
book this year entitled _Slow_Apocalypse_ which
sounds very close to _Soft_Apocalypse_:
http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Apocalypse-Will-McIntosh/dp/159780276X/

However, next in my SBR is _Feed_
http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Newsflesh-Book-Mira-Grant/dp/0316081051/
which was released in 2010.

So, are there many simple book names left without
jumping on another book ? I have no idea how to
determine this.

Lynn

Ahasuerus

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Jan 31, 2012, 5:41:35 PM1/31/12

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Step 1: Download a publicly available list of English words, e.g. YAWL
at http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/tapestry/data/yawl-0.3.2/

Step 2: Download the latest ISFDB backup from
http://isfdb.s3.amazonaws.com/backups/backup-2012-01-28.zip

Step 3: Play with the data to your heart's content!

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

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Jan 31, 2012, 6:05:43 PM1/31/12

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Step 4: PROFIT!!!

--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:
http://seawasp.livejournal.com

Scott Fluhrer

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Jan 31, 2012, 6:09:46 PM1/31/12

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"Lynn McGuire" <l...@winsim.com> wrote in message
news:jg9q9i$47m$1...@dont-email.me...

> Are we running out of simple book names ?

Naah, we recycle old names.

For example, I just looked up how many authors had works titled "Cold Fire".
I found:

Helen Brooks
David Crane
Kate Elliott
C. S. Friedman [technically, that's "The Coldfire Trilogy"]
Nicole Gestalt
Dean Koontz
Tamora Pierce
Rush [Ok, that's a music collection, and so might not count]

And that was just on Amazon (and so would miss, say, if someone published a
work back in the '30's, and was afterwards deservedly forgotten).

I suppose people would have problems if someone labelled their new novel
"The Lord of the Rings"; and of course, some names are trademarks (e.g.
"Star Wars"). However, there are plenty of simple titles that don't run
into these problems...

Lynn McGuire

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Jan 31, 2012, 6:15:05 PM1/31/12

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That is what I meant. I thought that _Feed_ was a
new book name but it is recycled also.
http://www.amazon.com/Feed-M-T-Anderson/dp/0763622591/
http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Newsflesh-Book-Mira-Grant/dp/0316081051/

Lynn

Robert Carnegie

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Jan 31, 2012, 7:23:41 PM1/31/12

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On Jan 31, 10:34 pm, Lynn McGuire <l...@winsim.com> wrote:
> Are we running out of simple book names ?
>
> I just noted that John Varley is releasing a new
> book this year entitled _Slow_Apocalypse_ which
> sounds very close to _Soft_Apocalypse_:
> http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Apocalypse-Will-McIntosh/dp/159780276X/
>
> However, next in my SBR is _Feed_
> http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Newsflesh-Book-Mira-Grant/dp/0316081051/
> which was released in 2010.

The other night a 2006 _Doctor Who_ story was shown, featuring
something called "Flesh".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Earth>

The "Flesh" in stories in the 2011 season appears to be not connected
to the previous edition:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rebel_Flesh>

Konrad Gaertner

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Jan 31, 2012, 7:27:53 PM1/31/12

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Results 1-10 of about 43,044

http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3Aprofit&fq=x0%3Abook

--
Konrad Gaertner - - - - - - - - - - - - email: kgae...@tx.rr.com
http://kgbooklog.livejournal.com/
"I don't mind hidden depths but I insist that there be a surface."
-- James Nicoll

Butch Malahide

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Jan 31, 2012, 7:40:53 PM1/31/12

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On Jan 31, 5:09 pm, "Scott Fluhrer" <sfluh...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> "Lynn McGuire" <l...@winsim.com> wrote in message
>
> news:jg9q9i$47m$1...@dont-email.me...
>
> > Are we running out of simple book names ?
>
> Naah, we recycle old names.
>
> For example, I just looked up how many authors had works titled "Cold Fire".

> [. . .]

The most-recycled SF title is "Homecoming" according to this:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.pulp/msg/07189b954f856456?hl=en

Robert Carnegie

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Jan 31, 2012, 7:54:13 PM1/31/12

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On Jan 31, 11:09 pm, "Scott Fluhrer" <sfluh...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> I suppose people would have problems if someone labelled their new novel
> "The Lord of the Rings";

_The Rings of the ..._
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Coe#Later_career> ?

David DeLaney

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Jan 31, 2012, 10:02:25 PM1/31/12

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And _The Rings of the Master_ is a four-book series from Jack Chalker, a
couple of decades back by now.

Dave
--
\/David DeLaney posting from d...@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

art...@yahoo.com

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Jan 31, 2012, 10:03:19 PM1/31/12

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On Jan 31, 5:34 pm, Lynn McGuire <l...@winsim.com> wrote:

Dunno but I am currently reading Jonathan Lethem's Fortess of Solitude
in which one of the characters does cover art for SF books including
"Neural Circus". Someone should write that book. Note that Fortress of
Solitude is not exactly SF, but there is a magic ring of sorts.

David Dyer-Bennet

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Feb 1, 2012, 9:55:15 AM2/1/12

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People have been jumping on other books' titles for years (since they
have no legal protection). _Knight of Ghosts and Shadows_ comes to mind
(since it's a quotation to begin with...). _Threshold_ has also
recently been brought to my attention.

--
David Dyer-Bennet, dd...@dd-b.net; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

Will in New Haven

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Feb 1, 2012, 10:14:26 AM2/1/12

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On Jan 31, 5:34 pm, Lynn McGuire <l...@winsim.com> wrote:

So you think this is bad in _fiction_ Just think about how many fields
have really limited books titles.

Almost all of the books competing for use in low-level microbiology
classes have the title Microbiology (subtitle) and most of the
subtitles are (an or a) (word) approach.

The first popular textbook in one field, which I happen to market, is
_Molecular Biology of the Cell_ and its chief competitor in the niche
is _Molecular Cell Biology_

--
Will in New Haven
All change for round Nine; slow pairs please go home

Kip Williams

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Feb 1, 2012, 10:23:40 AM2/1/12

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I blame the People's Front of Judea.

Kip W
rasfw

Michael Stemper

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Feb 1, 2012, 1:17:21 PM2/1/12

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In article <0OcWq.8785$ak....@newsfe19.iad>, Kip Williams <mrk...@gmail.com> writes:
>Will in New Haven wrote:
>> On Jan 31, 5:34 pm, Lynn McGuire<l...@winsim.com> wrote:

>>> Are we running out of simple book names ?

>>> So, are there many simple book names left without
>>> jumping on another book ? I have no idea how to
>>> determine this.
>>
>> So you think this is bad in _fiction_ Just think about how many fields
>> have really limited books titles.
>>
>> Almost all of the books competing for use in low-level microbiology
>> classes have the title Microbiology (subtitle) and most of the
>> subtitles are (an or a) (word) approach.
>>
>> The first popular textbook in one field, which I happen to market, is
>> _Molecular Biology of the Cell_ and its chief competitor in the niche
>> is _Molecular Cell Biology_

Which reminds me of this riff on the titles of math books:

<http://groups.google.com/group/sci.math/browse_frm/thread/d48aa86bfccf7a21/b5711423f9c42dd1?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=#b5711423f9c42dd1>

>I blame the People's Front of Judea.

Splitter!

--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
Why doesn't anybody care about apathy?

david.sh...@ymail.com

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Feb 1, 2012, 3:01:57 PM2/1/12

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On Feb 1, 9:55 am, David Dyer-Bennet <d...@dd-b.net> wrote:

> People have been jumping on other books' titles for years (since they
> have no legal protection). _Knight of Ghosts and Shadows_ comes to mind
> (since it's a quotation to begin with...). _Threshold_ has also
> recently been brought to my attention.

And then there's _Taltos_, both the Brust and the Rice novels,
which would have been less surprising if I had known
Hungarian.

Suzanne Blom

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Feb 1, 2012, 4:57:18 PM2/1/12

to

I suspect that "The" and "Notwithstanding" and a few others may last
another day or two. After that, we'll just have to wave our hands and
say, "That one" to differentiate.

Ahasuerus

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Feb 1, 2012, 6:01:23 PM2/1/12

to

There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
"Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.

Howard Brazee

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Feb 1, 2012, 6:50:48 PM2/1/12

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On Wed, 1 Feb 2012 15:01:23 -0800 (PST), Ahasuerus
<ahas...@email.com> wrote:

>
>There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
>"Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.

Are rock group names copyrited?

There's a movie that doesn't contain any letters or numbers in its
title.

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

Jerry Brown

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Feb 2, 2012, 6:32:32 AM2/2/12

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On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:50:48 -0700, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net>
wrote:

>On Wed, 1 Feb 2012 15:01:23 -0800 (PST), Ahasuerus
><ahas...@email.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
>>"Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.
>
>Are rock group names copyrited?
>
>There's a movie that doesn't contain any letters or numbers in its
>title.

Do you mean Aronofsky's "Pi"? If so, it is still a letter, just an
ancient one.

--
Jerry Brown

A cat may look at a king
(but probably won't bother)

Michael Stemper

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Feb 2, 2012, 9:17:53 AM2/2/12

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In article <2tjji7d1b70m4gf6m...@4ax.com>, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net> writes:
>On Wed, 1 Feb 2012 15:01:23 -0800 (PST), Ahasuerus <ahas...@email.com> wrote:

>>There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
>>"Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.
>
>Are rock group names copyrited?

I don't believe that you can copyright a name. They can, however,
be trademarked.

>There's a movie that doesn't contain any letters or numbers in its
>title.

Led Zeppelin has an album with no letters or numbers in its title:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_IV#The_four_symbols>

--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>

A bad day sailing is better than a good day at the office.

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

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Feb 2, 2012, 9:22:42 AM2/2/12

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On 2/2/12 9:17 AM, Michael Stemper wrote:
> In article<2tjji7d1b70m4gf6m...@4ax.com>, Howard Brazee<how...@brazee.net> writes:
>> On Wed, 1 Feb 2012 15:01:23 -0800 (PST), Ahasuerus<ahas...@email.com> wrote:
>
>>> There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
>>> "Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.
>>
>> Are rock group names copyrited?
>
> I don't believe that you can copyright a name. They can, however,
> be trademarked.

Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band The
Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
publishing another book with that title.

Howard C

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Feb 2, 2012, 9:51:58 AM2/2/12

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On Feb 2, 8:22 am, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"

<seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
.
>
> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band The
> Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
> Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
> publishing another book with that title.
>
> --
> Sea Wasp
> /^\
> ;;;
> Website:http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:http://seawasp.livejournal.com

While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_
before the band?

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

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Feb 2, 2012, 9:56:46 AM2/2/12

to

Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in which
the larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on the
older, smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just blanking
on the actual names.

Howard Brazee

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Feb 2, 2012, 10:14:54 AM2/2/12

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On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:32:32 +0000, Jerry Brown
<je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:

>>There's a movie that doesn't contain any letters or numbers in its
>>title.
>
>Do you mean Aronofsky's "Pi"? If so, it is still a letter, just an
>ancient one.

No, that's not the movie I mean.

Howard Brazee

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Feb 2, 2012, 10:15:57 AM2/2/12

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On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:22:42 -0500, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
<sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:

>> I don't believe that you can copyright a name. They can, however,
>> be trademarked.
>
> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band The
>Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
>Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
>publishing another book with that title.

When Apple started iTunes, the Beatles' lawyers got involved.

David Dyer-Bennet

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Feb 2, 2012, 10:33:47 AM2/2/12

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"Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> writes:

> On 2/2/12 9:17 AM, Michael Stemper wrote:
>> In article<2tjji7d1b70m4gf6m...@4ax.com>, Howard Brazee<how...@brazee.net> writes:
>>> On Wed, 1 Feb 2012 15:01:23 -0800 (PST), Ahasuerus<ahas...@email.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
>>>> "Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.
>>>
>>> Are rock group names copyrited?
>>
>> I don't believe that you can copyright a name. They can, however,
>> be trademarked.
>
> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band
> The Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
> Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
> publishing another book with that title.

I wonder if The Rolling Stone magazine had to work out a deal? That's
getting close to the same domain.

And many of us will remember Apple Computer vs. Apple Records, and how
that get complicated when Apple Computer got into the business of
selling music.

David Dyer-Bennet

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Feb 2, 2012, 10:34:47 AM2/2/12

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"Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> writes:

> On 2/2/12 9:51 AM, Howard C wrote:
>> On Feb 2, 8:22 am, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>> <seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
>> .
>>>
>>> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band The
>>> Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
>>> Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
>>> publishing another book with that title.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Sea Wasp
>>> /^\
>>> ;;;
>>> Website:http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:http://seawasp.livejournal.com
>>
>> While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_
>> before the band?
>
> Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in
> which the larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on
> the older, smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just
> blanking on the actual names.

I'll bet some of them involve people named Macdonald wanting to run a
small restaurant.

Kip Williams

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Feb 2, 2012, 10:48:05 AM2/2/12

to

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
> On 2/2/12 9:51 AM, Howard C wrote:

>> While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_
>> before the band?
>
> Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in which the
> larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on the older,
> smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just blanking on the
> actual names.

McDonald's made a family restaurant that was around before they were
quit using the name.

I was working at McDonald Garden Center at the time, so we were alert to
that sort of thing, even though the businesses are different. We had no
possessive 's, and tended to correct people who inserted it
unconsciously, for instance.

Kip W
rasfw

Robert Carnegie

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Feb 2, 2012, 10:39:39 AM2/2/12

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On Feb 1, 11:50 pm, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Feb 2012 15:01:23 -0800 (PST), Ahasuerus
>

> <ahasue...@email.com> wrote:
>
> >There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
> >"Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.
>
> Are rock group names copyrited?
>
> There's a movie that doesn't contain any letters or numbers in its
> title.

There may be several that appear partly or wholly as "****" in the TV
titles. Then again, you might name your story "*****" for an entirely
different reason - to look like it received a top rating. Like
several popular songs with "Number One" in, or as, the name.

Butch Malahide

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Feb 2, 2012, 12:47:45 PM2/2/12

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On Feb 2, 8:17 am, mstem...@walkabout.empros.com (Michael Stemper)
wrote:

> In article <2tjji7d1b70m4gf6m108vortd2acmlj...@4ax.com>, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net> writes:
> >
> >There's a movie that doesn't contain any letters or numbers in its
> >title.
>
> Led Zeppelin has an album with no letters or numbers in its title:
>
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_IV#The_four_symbols>

ObSF:
<http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1341338>
<http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?843256>
<http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?42234>

Richard R. Hershberger

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Feb 2, 2012, 1:24:21 PM2/2/12

to

On Feb 2, 10:48 am, Kip Williams <mrk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
> > On 2/2/12 9:51 AM, Howard C wrote:
> >> While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_
> >> before the band?
>
> > Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in which the
> > larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on the older,
> > smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just blanking on the
> > actual names.
>
> McDonald's made a family restaurant that was around before they were
> quit using the name.

I have heard (but not confirmed) that they tried this in Scotland, and
were laughed out of court.

Richard R. Hershberger

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Feb 2, 2012, 1:23:03 PM2/2/12

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On Feb 2, 6:32 am, Jerry Brown

<je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:
> On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:50:48 -0700, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net>
> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 1 Feb 2012 15:01:23 -0800 (PST), Ahasuerus
> ><ahasue...@email.com> wrote:
>
> >>There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
> >>"Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.
>
> >Are rock group names copyrited?
>
> >There's a movie that doesn't contain any letters or numbers in its
> >title.
>
> Do you mean Aronofsky's "Pi"? If so, it is still a letter, just an
> ancient one.

As contrasted with the non-ancient letters used in English?

Kip Williams

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Feb 2, 2012, 1:31:26 PM2/2/12

to

I'd laugh along. They strike me as corporate bullies at times.

Kip W
rasfw

Scott Fluhrer

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Feb 2, 2012, 2:47:14 PM2/2/12

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"Richard R. Hershberger" <rrh...@acme.com> wrote in message
news:276f6bc4-6374-4018...@gi10g2000vbb.googlegroups.com...

Or maybe contrasted with "Pi" within the modern Greek alphabet

--
poncho

Suzanne Blom

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Feb 2, 2012, 5:27:30 PM2/2/12

to

I'm rather surprised that "Ouch" hasn't been taken. In fact, the more I
look at that list the more I see that would make quite nice titles for
the right books.

Kurt Busiek

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Feb 2, 2012, 5:38:20 PM2/2/12

to

http://www.amazon.com/Ouch-Ragnhild-Scamell/dp/156148511X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328221923&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Ouch-Richard-Walker/dp/0756658136/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328221923&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Stereotype-Hurts-Communicating-Respectfully-Diverse/dp/1885228724/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1328221923&sr=8-3

> In fact, the more I look at that list the more I see that would make
> quite nice titles for the right books.

http://www.amazon.com/Yes-ebook/dp/B001F51X64/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328222002&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.com/No-David-McPhail/dp/B0046LUWLG/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328222042&sr=1-10

http://www.amazon.com/Well-Lisa-Kron/dp/1559362537/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328222068&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Methuen-Modern-Plays-Taylor/dp/0413521303/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328222091&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Notwithstanding-Louis-Bernieres/dp/0099542021/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328222255&sr=1-1

THE

and ALREADY, I came up dry on.

kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com -- for all your Busiek needs!

Jaimie Vandenbergh

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Feb 2, 2012, 7:28:39 PM2/2/12

to

On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:15:57 -0700, Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net>
wrote:

>On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:22:42 -0500, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
><sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>>> I don't believe that you can copyright a name. They can, however,
>>> be trademarked.
>>
>> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band The
>>Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
>>Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
>>publishing another book with that title.
>
>When Apple started iTunes, the Beatles' lawyers got involved.

No surprise. Apple Computers had declared they'd stay out of the music
biz to Apple Records (and vice versa) in 1979 - when AR took AC to
court over it. So AR perfectly reasonably did it again in 2003 when AC
entered the music biz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and
looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison

Howard Brazee

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Feb 2, 2012, 7:58:16 PM2/2/12

to

On Thu, 2 Feb 2012 09:47:45 -0800 (PST), Butch Malahide
<fred....@gmail.com> wrote:

>ObSF:
><http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1341338>
><http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?843256>
><http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?42234>

Very good. The movie $, is not SF.

John F. Eldredge

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Feb 2, 2012, 8:59:22 PM2/2/12

to

On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:56:46 -0500, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:

> On 2/2/12 9:51 AM, Howard C wrote:
>> On Feb 2, 8:22 am, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>> <seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
>> .
>>>
>>> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band
>>> The
>>> Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
>>> Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
>>> publishing another book with that title.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Sea Wasp
>>> /^\
>>> ;;;
>>> Website:http://www.grandcentralarena.com
>>> Blog:http://seawasp.livejournal.com
>>
>> While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_ before
>> the band?
>
> Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in
which
> the larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on the
> older, smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just blanking
> on the actual names.

There used to be a surplus-electronics business here in Nashville,
Tennessee, named Javanco. Sun sent them a cease-and-desist order, and
threatened a suit, saying that the Javanco company name infringed on the
Java trademark. However, Sun dropped the suit after the owner of the
company pointed out that his surname was Javan.

--
John F. Eldredge -- jo...@jfeldredge.com
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly
is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

Kurt Busiek

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Feb 2, 2012, 9:05:09 PM2/2/12

to

On 2012-02-03 01:59:22 +0000, "John F. Eldredge" <jo...@jfeldredge.com> said:

> On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:56:46 -0500, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
>> On 2/2/12 9:51 AM, Howard C wrote:
>>> On Feb 2, 8:22 am, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>>> <seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band
>>>> The
>>>> Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
>>>> Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
>>>> publishing another book with that title.
>>>

>>> While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_ before
>>> the band?
>>
>> Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in which
>> the larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on the
>> older, smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just blanking
>> on the actual names.
>
> There used to be a surplus-electronics business here in Nashville,
> Tennessee, named Javanco. Sun sent them a cease-and-desist order, and
> threatened a suit, saying that the Javanco company name infringed on the
> Java trademark. However, Sun dropped the suit after the owner of the
> company pointed out that his surname was Javan.

Yeah, a lot of cease-and-desist letters are largely bluff.

When my lawyer filed to register my trademark on my ASTRO CITY comic
book, we heard from the Houston Astros, who told us that this was an
infringement. My lawyer sent back a letter politely telling them to go
blow, and they did.

Ahasuerus

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Feb 3, 2012, 1:05:12 AM2/3/12

to

On Feb 2, 5:38 pm, Kurt Busiek <k...@busiek.com> wrote:
> On 2012-02-02 22:27:30 +0000, Suzanne Blom <bo...@sueblom.net> said:
>
> > On 2/1/2012 5:01 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:
> >> On Feb 1, 4:57 pm, Suzanne Blom<bo...@sueblom.net> wrote:
> >>> On 1/31/2012 4:34 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:> Are we running out of
> >>> simple book names ?
> >>>
> >>>> I just noted that John Varley is releasing a new
> >>>> book this year entitled _Slow_Apocalypse_ which
> >>>> sounds very close to _Soft_Apocalypse_:
> >>>>http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Apocalypse-Will-McIntosh/dp/159780276X/
> >>>>
> >>>> However, next in my SBR is _Feed_
> >>>>http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Newsflesh-Book-Mira-Grant/dp/0316081051/
> >>>> which was released in 2010.
> >>>>
> >>>> So, are there many simple book names left without
> >>>> jumping on another book ? I have no idea how to
> >>>> determine this.
> >>>
> >>> I suspect that "The" and "Notwithstanding" and a few others may last
> >>> another day or two. After that, we'll just have to wave our hands and
> >>> say, "That one" to differentiate.
> >>
> >> There are plenty of simple titles that haven't been claimed yet:
> >> "Yes", "No", "Ouch", "Well", "Good", "Already", etc.
> >
> > I'm rather surprised that "Ouch" hasn't been taken.
>

> http://www.amazon.com/Ouch-Ragnhild-Scamell/dp/156148511X/ref=sr_1_1?...
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Ouch-Richard-Walker/dp/0756658136/ref=sr_1_2?ie...
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Stereotype-Hurts-Communicating-Respectfully-Div...
[snip]

I was only referring to SF titles. Also, since my source was ISFDB and
ISFDB is missing 100,000+ Kindle books/stories, some of these words
may have already been used.

Robert Carnegie

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Feb 3, 2012, 3:43:06 AM2/3/12

to

On Feb 3, 2:05 am, Kurt Busiek <k...@busiek.com> wrote:

You seem to have won, indeed.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/20183/houston-astros-consider-name-change

But isn't it that you have to "defend" a tradmark ferociously -
otherwise, by this time, /your/ baseball team - or mine - could be out
there /really/ confusing fans.

But all that they did is write one letter, which is very cheap - for
the lawyers doing it; more expensive, for the lawyer's client. They
can do more when you show up at the Astrodome selling Captain Astro T-
shirts.

(Apparently "Captain Astro" features in TV show _Queer as Folk_.
Perhaps you were aware of this; I was not.)

(And, in fact, I have most of your Astro City comics and albums, so I
do know your lead character is in fact that guy The Sumerian.)

T Guy

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Feb 3, 2012, 8:07:48 AM2/3/12

to

On Feb 2, 2:56 pm, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"

<seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> On 2/2/12 9:51 AM, Howard C wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 2, 8:22 am, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> > <seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> > .
>
> >> Trademarks, however, only apply in specific domains. The band The
> >> Rolling Stones can't sue to stop Heinlein's estate from using "The
> >> Rolling Stones" as a title, nor could they stop anyone else from
> >> publishing another book with that title.
>
> >> --
> >> Sea Wasp
> >> /^\
> >> ;;;

> >> Website:http://www.grandcentralarena.comBlog:http://seawasp.livejournal.com

>
> > While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_
> > before the band?
>
> Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in which
> the larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on the
> older, smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just blanking
> on the actual names.

Budweiser.

Suzanne Blom

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Feb 3, 2012, 4:45:43 PM2/3/12

to

On 2/2/2012 4:38 PM, Kurt Busiek wrote:
> On 2012-02-02 22:27:30 +0000, Suzanne Blom <bo...@sueblom.net> said:
>
>> On 2/1/2012 5:01 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:
>>> On Feb 1, 4:57 pm, Suzanne Blom<bo...@sueblom.net> wrote:
>>>> On 1/31/2012 4:34 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:> Are we running out of
>>>> simple book names ?
>>>>

I am surprised (and rather pleased) that "Notwithstanding" has made into
the list of titles. Perhaps--and only perhaps--I should tackle the job
of producing a saleable work titled "Already." I think "The" is beyond
my powers.

Kurt Busiek

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Feb 3, 2012, 4:55:05 PM2/3/12

to

On 2012-02-03 21:45:43 +0000, Suzanne Blom <bo...@sueblom.net> said:

> I am surprised (and rather pleased) that "Notwithstanding" has made
> into the list of titles.

At least twice. Here's another:

http://www.amazon.com/Notwithstanding-Mary-Cholmondeley/dp/1162676523/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328305926&sr=1-2

…that

dates back to 1913.

> Perhaps--and only perhaps--I should tackle the job of producing a
> saleable work titled "Already." I think "The" is beyond my powers.

There's a band called The The, but I don't think that counts.

I expect it could be done, though…

Suzanne Blom

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Feb 4, 2012, 4:56:36 PM2/4/12

to

On 2/3/2012 3:55 PM, Kurt Busiek wrote:
> On 2012-02-03 21:45:43 +0000, Suzanne Blom <bo...@sueblom.net> said:
>
>> I am surprised (and rather pleased) that "Notwithstanding" has made
>> into the list of titles.
>
> At least twice. Here's another:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Notwithstanding-Mary-Cholmondeley/dp/1162676523/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328305926&sr=1-2
>
> …that
> dates back to 1913.
>

So we've been missing strange words for a long time now. My, my.

>> Perhaps--and only perhaps--I should tackle the job of producing a
>> saleable work titled "Already." I think "The" is beyond my powers.
>
> There's a band called The The, but I don't think that counts.
>

Definitely not.

Robert Carnegie

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Feb 4, 2012, 6:10:16 PM2/4/12

to

On Feb 3, 9:55 pm, Kurt Busiek <k...@busiek.com> wrote:
> On 2012-02-03 21:45:43 +0000, Suzanne Blom <bo...@sueblom.net> said:
>
> > I am surprised (and rather pleased) that "Notwithstanding" has made
> > into the list of titles.
>
> At least twice. Here's another:
>

> http://www.amazon.com/Notwithstanding-Mary-Cholmondeley/dp/1162676523...

>
> …that
>
> dates back to 1913.
>
> > Perhaps--and only perhaps--I should tackle the job of producing a
> > saleable work titled "Already." I think "The" is beyond my powers.
>
> There's a band called The The, but I don't think that counts.
>
> I expect it could be done, though…

How about a nonfiction book about the tea trade, but in French?

Oh, but we want sci-fi. Now... what's that one about monsters from
the future that emerge from a holes through time itself... they would
be "Time Hole Emergents"... so...no? Well, all right, no.

Anyway, where would it be shelved in the library?

Pedro Dias

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Feb 5, 2012, 11:39:20 AM2/5/12

to

They are. That particular story made me laugh very hard when the
Macdonald of Macdonald, 8th Lord Macdonald, Chief of the Name and Arms
of Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald and 34th hereditary Chief of
Clan Donald, threatened to countersue if they didn't leave the little
coffee shop alone. Never did learn how that played out, though.

To be fair, the little coffee shop wasn't as innocent as all that:
they also used a riff on the Golden Arches, only with Gothic arches.
If memory serves.

Kurt Busiek

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Feb 6, 2012, 11:00:54 PM2/6/12

to

On 2012-02-03 08:43:06 +0000, Robert Carnegie <rja.ca...@excite.com> said:

> (Apparently "Captain Astro" features in TV show _Queer as Folk_.
> Perhaps you were aware of this; I was not.)

I didn't, but there's a character named "Brian Kinney" in QUEER AS
FOLK, too, and I used that name in ASTRO CITY earlier, so I expect
someone there was a reader.

> (And, in fact, I have most of your Astro City comics and albums, so I
> do know your lead character is in fact that guy The Sumerian.)

Conan the Sumerian!

Kurt Busiek

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Feb 6, 2012, 11:09:56 PM2/6/12

to

Not so much. Anheuser-Busch has a trademark in the US. In contintental
Europe, they use other names, because the other guys have the trademark
in that territory.

Kip Williams

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Feb 6, 2012, 11:34:58 PM2/6/12

to

Robert Carnegie wrote:

> But all that they did is write one letter, which is very cheap - for
> the lawyers doing it; more expensive, for the lawyer's client. They
> can do more when you show up at the Astrodome selling Captain Astro T-
> shirts.
>
> (Apparently "Captain Astro" features in TV show _Queer as Folk_.
> Perhaps you were aware of this; I was not.)

Does he, ehm, use Astro Glide?

Kip W
rasfw

Robert Carnegie

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Feb 7, 2012, 7:20:44 AM2/7/12

to

Doesn't everyone??

(If only to clean silverware. Or, maybe best you don't.)

Gene Wirchenko

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Feb 7, 2012, 11:57:11 PM2/7/12

to

On Sun, 5 Feb 2012 08:39:20 -0800 (PST), Pedro Dias
<pedr...@snip.net> wrote:

>On Feb 2, 1:31 pm, Kip Williams <mrk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Richard R. Hershberger wrote:
>> > On Feb 2, 10:48 am, Kip Williams<mrk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>>
>> >>> On 2/2/12 9:51 AM, Howard C wrote:
>> >>>> While your point is taken, didn't Heinlein write _Rolling Stone_
>> >>>> before the band?
>>
>> >>> Yes, but if you check through legal records there are cases in which the
>> >>> larger, well-established latecomer has been able to beat on the older,
>> >>> smaller original. I've seen a couple of these, I'm just blanking on the
>> >>> actual names.
>>
>> >> McDonald's made a family restaurant that was around before they were
>> >> quit using the name.
>>
>> > I have heard (but not confirmed) that they tried this in Scotland, and
>> > were laughed out of court.

Which court? Did Lord Lyon have jurisdiction?

>> I'd laugh along. They strike me as corporate bullies at times.

>They are. That particular story made me laugh very hard when the
>Macdonald of Macdonald, 8th Lord Macdonald, Chief of the Name and Arms
>of Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald and 34th hereditary Chief of
>Clan Donald, threatened to countersue if they didn't leave the little
>coffee shop alone. Never did learn how that played out, though.

A Big Mac attack?

>To be fair, the little coffee shop wasn't as innocent as all that:
>they also used a riff on the Golden Arches, only with Gothic arches.
>If memory serves.

Was there any confusion?

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

Charles Combes

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Feb 8, 2012, 9:41:56 AM2/8/12

to

Kurt Busiek wrote:
> On 2012-02-03 08:43:06 +0000, Robert > Conan the Sumerian!
>
> kdb

Let me guess, he's the Ur-Barbarian?

Message has been deleted

Robert Carnegie

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Feb 8, 2012, 11:46:59 AM2/8/12

to

On Feb 8, 2:41 pm, "Charles Combes" <chukamoknos...@yahoonospam.com>
wrote:

Astro City does have Gentleman, The Urbanian. Except for the last
part.

The other guy is /actually/ The Samaritan, like "the" Samaritan in the
bible (and a lot like Superman, also, which is fine), and I had
considered pretending to think that his name was Smartypants. I
mention this so that you'll be grateful I didn't say it - uh,
whoops. :-)

none Chuk Goodin

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Feb 9, 2012, 6:59:09 PM2/9/12

to

In article <0e4d4143-8efe-456c...@eb6g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>,
Will in New Haven <bill....@taylorandfrancis.com> wrote:
>
>The first popular textbook in one field, which I happen to market, is
>_Molecular Biology of the Cell_ and its chief competitor in the niche
>is _Molecular Cell Biology_

I like MBotC better but they are both pretty good. One of the subject
areas where you actually do need to print a new edition every year or
two. (Not like with math books...)

--
--
chuk

art...@yahoo.com

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Feb 9, 2012, 9:30:58 PM2/9/12

to

On Feb 1, 10:14 am, Will in New Haven
<bill.re...@taylorandfrancis.com> wrote:

> On Jan 31, 5:34 pm, Lynn McGuire <l...@winsim.com> wrote:
>
> > Are we running out of simple book names ?
>

> > I just noted that John Varley is releasing a new
> > book this year entitled _Slow_Apocalypse_ which
> > sounds very close to _Soft_Apocalypse_:
> > http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Apocalypse-Will-McIntosh/dp/159780276X/
>
> > However, next in my SBR is _Feed_
> > http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Newsflesh-Book-Mira-Grant/dp/0316081051/
> > which was released in 2010.
>

> > So, are there many simple book names left without
> > jumping on another book ? I have no idea how to
> > determine this.
>

> So you think this is bad in _fiction_ Just think about how many fields
> have really limited books titles.
>
> Almost all of the books competing for use in low-level microbiology
> classes have the title Microbiology (subtitle) and most of the
> subtitles are (an or a) (word) approach.

>
> The first popular textbook in one field, which I happen to market, is
> _Molecular Biology of the Cell_ and its chief competitor in the niche
> is _Molecular Cell Biology_

Is it just coincidence that 2 prominent research journals in the field
are
Molecular Biology of the Cell and
Molecular and Cellular Biology
?

Robert Carnegie

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Feb 10, 2012, 5:35:01 AM2/10/12

to

> ?-

I think if you're interested in cells and their molecular biology,
then _Molecular Biology of the Cell_, _Molecular and Cellular
Biology_, _Thrilling Wonder Stories_ and _Playboy_ are the four
magazines you're most likely to read, but you'll find TWS pretty
disappointing. And if you write an article about cells and their
molecular biology, it's very unlikely that you'll send it to
_Hydraulics & Pneumatics_.

Michael Stemper

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Feb 10, 2012, 12:33:44 PM2/10/12

to

In article <348aef77-a12f-4329...@y10g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>, Robert Carnegie <rja.ca...@excite.com> writes:
>On Feb 10, 2:30=A0am, "art...@yahoo.com" <art...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> On Feb 1, 10:14=A0am, Will in New Haven

>> > The first popular textbook in one field, which I happen to market, is
>> > _Molecular Biology of the Cell_ and its chief competitor in the niche
>> > is _Molecular Cell Biology_
>>
>> Is it just coincidence that 2 prominent research journals in the field
>> are
>> Molecular Biology of the Cell and
>> Molecular and Cellular Biology
>

>I think if you're interested in cells and their molecular biology,
>then _Molecular Biology of the Cell_, _Molecular and Cellular
>Biology_, _Thrilling Wonder Stories_ and _Playboy_ are the four
>magazines you're most likely to read, but you'll find TWS pretty
>disappointing.

Especially its publication schedule.

--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana.

none Chuk Goodin

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Feb 10, 2012, 2:21:28 PM2/10/12

to

In article <jgq7ln$vp3$1...@dont-email.me>, Kurt Busiek <ku...@busiek.com> wrote:
>On 2012-02-03 08:43:06 +0000, Robert Carnegie <rja.ca...@excite.com> said:
>
>> (Apparently "Captain Astro" features in TV show _Queer as Folk_.
>> Perhaps you were aware of this; I was not.)
>
>I didn't, but there's a character named "Brian Kinney" in QUEER AS
>FOLK, too, and I used that name in ASTRO CITY earlier, so I expect
>someone there was a reader.

If you watched the show at all you'll already know this, but one of the
two main characters had a comic store for much of the series.

--
--
chuk

David DeLaney

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Feb 10, 2012, 7:51:42 PM2/10/12

to

Robert Carnegie <rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>I think if you're interested in cells and their molecular biology,
>then _Molecular Biology of the Cell_, _Molecular and Cellular
>Biology_, _Thrilling Wonder Stories_ and _Playboy_ are the four
>magazines you're most likely to read, but you'll find TWS pretty
>disappointing.

Oh now we're back to that Smothers Brothers song, are we?

My old slan's a star-sailor, hey, what do you think about that?
He wears a star-sailor's coller, he wears a star-sailor's hat
He wears a starrrrr-sailor's raincoat, he wears star-sailors' shoes
And every Saturday evening, he reads the Star-Sailor's News

And some day, if I can ... I'm gonna be a star-sailor, the same as my old slan!

Well, my old slan's a xenoanthropologist, say what do you think about that?
She wears a xenoanthropologist collar, she wears a xenoanthropologist hat
She wears a xenoanthropologist raincoat, she wears xenoanthropologist shoes
(practical!)
And every Saturday evening, she scans the Xenoanthropologist News

And some day, if I can ... I'm gonna be a xenoanthropologist, the same as my
old slan!

Waaall, _my_ old slan's a cryogenics repairbot, whaddaya think about that?
It wears a cryogenics repairbot mechanicollar, it wears a cryogenics
repairbot tinfoil hat!
It wears a cryogenics repairbot water-repellent coating, it wears cryogenic
repairbot brake shoes
And every Saturday evening, it reads PlA-I magazine! (Wait, we can't say
that on the transtape!) (Oh yeah, right, sorry)

And some day, if I can ... I'm gonna be a cryogenics repairbot, the same as my
old slan!

... ... Well ... MY old slan's a cotton-pickin' finger-lickin hyperspatial
chicken plucker! What do you think about THAT? (...I think you'd better not
make a mistake here.)

Dave "remainder of scene redacted due to violent linguistic contortional
content" DeLaney
--
\/David DeLaney posting from d...@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.