Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Re: book title as song title and album title for musical act

That's a good question, and any specific advice should come from an attorney to whom you disclose confidentially all pertinent information and who researches the applicable law and facts.

However, subject to the foregoing, generally the title of a book is not protectable as a trademark. And in general, but with certain exceptions involving international law, anything that was first published in 1900 would no longer be protected by copyright.

If there were a copyright in effect, it would then be appropriate to determine whether the proposed song is a "fair use" of the copyrighted subject matter. A "fair use" of a copyrighted work is something that would be excluded from the scope of the copyright protection.

Re: book title as song title and album title for musical act

Actually, as a Holmes enthusiast I think it was 1916, which still places the work in the public domain in the US. But even where the work may still be copyrighted, your uses are probably okay if you're using "allusion" with its customary meaning. As Gerry Elman recommends, you should have an IP attoney review your work just to be certain.