How did these guys manage to use "Button Man" as the title for their movie? Surely that is a copywrite infringement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPX8Bw0EWWA
'Button Man' is a slang term for hired killer - you'd struggle to copyright it.
But surely you can't make another film and call it Rocky, Terminator, First Blood, etc etc
I was so excited when I saw it on YouTube and then soooo disappointed when I saw what it actually was.
And tell me Dark Jimbo, how do you know so much about this hitman business? Have you been hanging around one the dark web for too long? Hmmm
Tarantinoi
Quote from: Tarantino on 27 June, 2022, 12:43:19 PM
But surely you can't make another film and call it Rocky, Terminator, First Blood, etc etc
You can make a film and call it Button Man because, despite your use of '
another film and call it Rocky, Terminator' etc, there is no other pre-existing film called Button Man.
As already said, 'button man' is a gangster slang term that's been out there for decades (It's used in dialogue in Godfather Part 2, in 1974. Should Francis Coppola and Mario Puzo sue John Wagner for using it?)
You can't copyright slang expressions, commonly used phrases etc.
If someone did a movie called Button Man using the premise of the Wagner & Ranson comic series, then that would be a different matter.
Thanks for clearing that up. It makes sense. But now that a Button Man movie has been made can Rebellion now make a movie and call it Button Man?
Rebellion have nothing to do with it. Button Man is creator-owned, and in development at Netflix.
To kinda answer your question--
Goodfellas, released in 1990 is based on a 1985 book by Nicholas Pileggi. Pileggi's book was called Wiseguy, but in 1986 Brian De Palm made a terrible Mafia comedy called Wise Guys. His film had nothing to do with the Pileggi book, other than both of them using a slang name for US mobsters.
The movie of Pileggi's book became Goodfellas, not Wiseguy. Why? Probably because the film studio didn't want anyone to confuse it with a fairly recent, really bad, flop gangster comedy.
Netflix could probably easily release something sharing the title - but no plot elements - of an obscure Australian short horror film, especially since the source material their project comes from predates this other Button Man.
Thanks Gordon, you have now had your day in court and you have excelled. You can represent me anytime, especially when I release my Judge DREAD film.
Tarantinio
If they were to release a movie called Button Man now, I would assume it would be about having dinner while on holiday.
Re: De Palma's Wise Guys, the 1987-1990 TV series Wiseguy (which was also about the mob) was also at least part of the reason why Goodfellas is called Goodfellas: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092484/
From what I know, while characters can be trademarked titles can't. You could release a novel called 'The Chamber of Secrets' but not 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. So a movie using the name of a trademarked character as the title (like Rocky or The Terminator) has - I think - an added level of protection as far as preventing other people using it as a title for their movies.
The only real way to claim a title is to have your work be so successful the very idea of using the same title becomes ridiculous. But if it's a catchy title, good luck: the Lee Marvin film Point Blank is a classic, but there's been a number of other unrelated movies titled Point Blank since 1967.
Quote from: 13school on 27 June, 2022, 02:58:47 PM
From what I know, while characters can be trademarked titles can't. You could release a novel called 'The Chamber of Secrets' but not 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. So a movie using the name of a trademarked character as the title (like Rocky or The Terminator) has - I think - an added level of protection as far as preventing other people using it as a title for their movies.
Titles can't be copyrighted, but I think they can be trademarked. Something like Jurassic Park is probably trademarked, as it's not a phrase in common use. But Button Man, as you say, is a slang term, and so would probably be regarded as in the public domain. That's my understanding, anyway, though I claim no expertise in the area of IP law.
Quote from: Mister Pops on 27 June, 2022, 02:34:20 PM
If they were to release a movie called Button Man now, I would assume it would be about having dinner while on holiday.
and the added excitement of a letter writing god failing to tick off his bucket list!