Two Invisible man books?

[badlands]

[august]

There's actually three, since there is a mystery short story by G.K. Chesterton with that title too. Plus, many of the films and TV shows with that title have nothing to
do with the Wells story/character, other than having someone who's invisible.

All are real. :poke: You can hold them, touch them, read them, juggle them, and dance about singing hallelujah with them. Since this is a sci-fi site, the one by Wells is the real one for our purposes, and it's also the earliest.

I'm sure someone will helpfully contribute a lengthy and unreadable essay full of ersatz legalese in a minute, but basically you don't get in trouble for similar titles when they are unrelated. So the film Waterloo and the ABBA song came out around the same time, but weren't connected. And here, it's a clever nod to the original -
Ellison *felt* as if he were invisible. So, no, Wells didn't also write about the black experience in America - his story was a traditional sci-fi tale, from which the films take inspiration. (The Chesterton story was about a murderer who managed
to escape notice.)

[Alvin Eriol]

I'm sure someone will helpfully contribute a lengthy and unreadable essay full of ersatz legalese in a minute, but basically you don't get in trouble for similar titles when they are unrelated.

I'll pass on this one! In any case, I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV! :jester:

Hit songs with similar titles released about the same time turn up every so often. About 1989 Prince released "You've Got the Look" just after Roxette came out with "She's Got the Look." More recently Nicol Spondberg and Beyonce both released songs about the same time entitled "Crazy In Love".

[Michael]

Ersatz: (of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else. OR not real or genuine.

Okay, book titles cannot be copyrighted. Nor can they be patented or trademarked. So anyone could write a book and call it "The Invisible Man" but for marketing purposes they would want to make the title more distinctive. And if a major publisher took an interest they would almost certainly insist on a unique title to avoid consumer confusion (even though there is no law against using the same title for many works).

[august]

:lol: was that a Mr. Data imitation?

Note: you can get around the copyright issue by establishing a brand. For example, only George Lucas was able to title his book "Star Wars." (He actually went the "service mark" route if I recall correctly.)

The producers of mockbuster films skirt this all the time, like their film about giant robots, "Transmorphers." :crazy: I *think* they got away with it, because their robots weren't cars.

[august]

:lol: was that a Mr. Data imitation?

Note: you can get around the copyright issue by establishing a brand. For example, only George Lucas was able to title his book "Star Wars." (He actually went the "service mark" route if I recall correctly.)

The producers of mockbuster films skirt this all the time, like their film about giant robots, "Transmorphers." :crazy: I *think* they got away with it, because their robots weren't cars.

[Michael]

I forgot about service marks. Thanks.