Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Re: Copyright Infringement?

The short answer is "maybe, probably not, but if you want to get a definitive answer, see a copyright lawyer."

The general principle is that copyright does not protect the title of a book. Copyright also does not cover "ideas" but does cover the "expression" adopted by the author in describing those ideas.

Since you say that your relative's book was published, let's assume that the author of the new book had access to it. If the author of the new book incorporated portions of your relative's book, or slavishly followed the overall structure of your relative's book even without copying a lot of its words, then there would be copyright infringement.

Yes, you do have reason to go visit a copyright lawyer and get a determination of whether there is enough there to go to court to enforce your copyright. But based on my experience with clients coming in with exactly the situation you describe, the odds are that the determination would be "no actionable infringement."

However, maybe you can take that lemon and make it into lemonade. If it turns out that the recently-published book has sparked interest in the subject and if your relative's book has material that complements whatever is the new book, how about taking the opportunity to republish or update your relative's book now?

What was the deal with the original publisher? Is the relative's book still in print? If not, might you consider going to a do-it-yourself publisher such as Trafford Press or putting it out as an e-book that you could hawk it on the Web?

Re: Copyright Infringement?

Yes, you may have a cause of action for copyright infringement depending on the extent of the copying involved. If merely the idea was used and much of the text was changed, copyright infrigement would likely not exist. On the other hand, if names and locations were changed, but it is apparent that not much else was altered, you may have an action. If you would like to discuss the matter further, you may call me at (312) 294-0500. Sincerely, Mark Grossman, Esq.