Copyright of Song and Album Titles

I make album tribute art I do not use any of the original art from the record covers I interpret how I would design a record or CD cover art for classic rock records of the 1970's and beyond. I know that song titles and album names are not subject to copyright infringement my question is what about the bands name such as The Beatles Abby Road? can I use the Abby Road in the art but not The Beatles? Or can I not use either?

Abbey Road is an actual road.

If your question is whether you can produce an album cover, not derived from the original Beatles album cover, and call it "Abbey Road", yes, you can. Where you would get into trouble would be if you tried to market that art in a manner that suggests that it is approved by the Beatles, associated with the Beatles, or endorsed by the Beatles. The Beatles may have made Abbey Road more famous, but they can't claim ownership of images of a public place or to the name of a street (or other geographic location).

Were the work based upon a song name or album title that was obscure, and thus potentially subject to an intellectual property claim, the calculus could shift. For example, the Who's song "Baba O'Riley" is something they made up, and calling your art by that name would thus bring to mind the specific work of that specific group, raising potential of a claim of trademark infringement or unfair competition (even in the absence of a defensible mark).

Making a cover that was based upon an actual, original album cover would raise issues of its being a derivative work, and subject to the rights of the copyright holder for the original work.

Use of a band's name would raise issues of trademark, and might suggest that you were attempting to use the band's brand / mark in order to market your work, attempting to suggest that your work was somehow associated with or approved by the band, or some combination thereof.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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Abbey Road is an actual road.

If your question is whether you can produce an album cover, not derived from the original Beatles album cover, and call it "Abbey Road", yes, you can. Where you would get into trouble would be if you tried to market that art in a manner that suggests that it is approved by the Beatles, associated with the Beatles, or endorsed by the Beatles. The Beatles may have made Abbey Road more famous, but they can't claim ownership of images of a public place or to the name of a street (or other geographic location).

Were the work based upon a song name or album title that was obscure, and thus potentially subject to an intellectual property claim, the calculus could shift. For example, the Who's song "Baba O'Riley" is something they made up, and calling your art by that name would thus bring to mind the specific work of that specific group, raising potential of a claim of trademark infringement or unfair competition (even in the absence of a defensible mark).

Making a cover that was based upon an actual, original album cover would raise issues of its being a derivative work, and subject to the rights of the copyright holder for the original work.

Use of a band's name would raise issues of trademark, and might suggest that you were attempting to use the band's brand / mark in order to market your work, attempting to suggest that your work was somehow associated with or approved by the band, or some combination thereof.

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OK I'm not sure If I explained the correct way it's a tribute to the Beatles Abbey road album with the song titles and the albums name and The Beatles on it I was once told the name of songs and album titles were not copy writable. is there a way for me to send you a digital copy so you can get an idea of how it looks?

here is a link to it tell me if I can get into trouble with this or like art work
https://michael-damiani.pixels.com/f...l-damiani.html

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Quoting Rocker57

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OK I'm not sure If I explained the correct way it's a tribute to the Beatles Abbey road album with the song titles and the albums name and The Beatles on it I was once told the name of songs and album titles were not copy writable. is there a way for me to send you a digital copy so you can get an idea of how it looks?

here is a link to it tell me if I can get into trouble with this or like art work
https://michael-damiani.pixels.com/f...l-damiani.html

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So you intend to use the band's name, with their signatures and the name "Abbey Road"? Seems a bit dangerous.

"The Beatles" is Trademarked and the art on that link would certainly be in violation.

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Quoting PayrolGuy

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"The Beatles" is Trademarked and the art on that link would certainly be in violation.

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Ok thanks I'll re-do it with the trademark removed and remove the signatures that should be OK then. Thanks for the info it was very helpful in as to what I can use and not use on my classic rock tributes.

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Quoting Rocker57

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Ok thanks I'll re-do it with the trademark removed and remove the signatures that should be OK then. Thanks for the info it was very helpful in as to what I can use and not use on my classic rock tributes.

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What about mechanical royalties?

From the BMI Website

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One of the most important revenue streams for the successful songwriter comes from mechanical royalties. The term refers to per-unit payments made by the record company to the music publisher for the reproduction of copyrighted musical compositions appearing on CDs, cassette tapes, vinyl albums, and other such manufactured formats. Basically, each time a consumer purchases a sound recording, publishers receive a mechanical royalty payment, which is then passed on to the songwriter.

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The OP mentioned nothing about reproducing any actual copies of the music.

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Quoting PayrolGuy

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From the BMI Website


The OP mentioned nothing about reproducing any actual copies of the music.

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Not selling the recordings it is a "Tribute Digital Art" of the album and band.

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Quoting Rocker57

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Not selling the recordings it is a "Tribute Digital Art" of the album and band.

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That is not a legal term, and has no relevance to the legal issues.