What’s in a name?

Ray Bradbury is the writer I most admire. I grew up reading his short stories and novels, and I still check the store shelves every now and then to see if, by chance, he’s published anything new. That said, I’m having a hard time agreeing with him about Michael Moore’s play on Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”. Moore’s film, entitled “Fahrenheit 9/11” and about the Bush administration’s handling of 9/11 and the war in Iraq, hits the theaters this week. Bradbury has made the papers by protesting that Moore did not ask his permission to use the name.

He didn’t.

We seem to have lost any grasp of what copyright and trademark law was entitled to protect. One of the first things you learn as a writer is that copyright does not protect ideas or titles. Mr. Bradbury needs to pull out his copy of the “Writer’s Friendly Legal Guide” published by Writer’s Digest Books. My copy is a bit old, but I don’t think copyright law in this area (published works in print) has changed that much. On page 69 it asks: “Does the new copyright law give copyright protection to titles? …” and answers it with: “It is not possible to copyright titles..”

In short, Mr. Moore did not need Mr. Bradbury’s permission.

True, it would be an artistic courtesy to seek it. But what do you do if the author or artist does not then grant it? Pressing ahead is nothing short of an insult, truly a Hobson’s Choice in many ways. This might be a good case where it is better to ask forgiveness than permission, especially when it seems the law is on Moore’s side.

Does that mean Bradbury won’t sue? No. The courts these days seem to lean toward celebrity or large corporations without regard to whether an average reader or viewer, apparently regarded to lack any intelligence or discretion, can tell the difference between the title, trademark or names between any two entities, products, or projects when they are similar. God help us if this trend continues because the art of writing will be massacred, doing away with any right to simile or satire while trying to make a point.