PRODUCTION TIPS: Avoid Using a Movie Title Already In Use (Lessons Learned from The Butler ruling)
So the verdict came in and a MPAA title registration bureau arbitration ruled Tuesday that The Weinstein Co. could not use the title The Butler on its upcoming film, due to be released Aug. 16, because that previously served as the title of a 1916 short film that now belongs to the Warner Bros. library . High-powered attorney, David Boies, fresh off his Supreme Court win, issued the following statement, "The suggestion that there is a danger of confusion between The Weinstein Co.’s 2013 feature movie and a 1917 [sic] short that has not been shown in theaters, television, DVDs, or in any other way for almost a century makes no sense. The award has no purpose except to restrict competition and is contrary to public policy." Basically, the MPAA title registration bureau decided that the market at large (meaning you and I) would confuse 2013's The Butler, a feature film about an African-American butler serving at the White House for 34 years, with 1916's The Butl