I just found this and I think it will shed alot of light on this subject I know it did for me.
It was posted by a Lawyer in Califonia.
I don?t understand your question. What do you mean you ?believe? that you have some ?original sayings.??
Because you only ?believe? it, I?m going to assume that you were not the one who said these ?sayings.? In that case, it doesn?t matter whether they are ?original? ? whatever that means ? because they are not ?original? from you. You do not own, therefore,[and can never own] a copyright in any of the sayings.
A ?saying? is either a stand-alone quote, a poem, or a small [repeat small] portion of another literary work. Each of these are, in copyright lingo, ?short phrases.?
The threshold issue is whether copyright attaches to any of the short phrases you want to reproduce. The starting point when thinking through that question is the rule that short phrases are NOT copyrightable. See 37 C.F.R. section 202.1 at
http://tinyurl.com/clr6bf and
http://tinyurl.com/dzza5s . Indeed, in the context of news organizations reporting facts, courts have held that entire paragraphs are sometimes not copyrightable.
Courts have applied this rule quite often. As a result, none of the following phrases are copyrightable:
?Listen Up, It?s More Than Talk, It?s Feeling?
?You Got The Right One, Uh-Huh?
?Protecting The Earth From The Scum Of The Universe"
?You?ve got to stand for something or you?ll fall for anything?
?Eat Your Art Out, Chicago?
"Priority Message: Contents Require Immediate Attention."
However, courts sometimes cite a different rule: that is, when a single line of a larger copyrighted work (such as a movie or poem) is copied by an alleged infringer, the test for copyright infringement is whether "the work is recognizable by an ordinary observer as having been taken from the copyrighted source."
If so, then the court will often conclude that copying that one particular sentence is an infringement of the larger work ? that is, the movie or poem. This rule is not, however, often applied. Nonetheless, if a phrase has become so well known that it may be considered "the heart" of a copyrightable work -- e.g. "ET phone home" -- then the court will find a way to preclude anyone other than the copyright owner from exploiting the phrase. Especially for commercial purposes such as in your planned book or poster.
So ... as far as copyright law goes, you're on safe ground publishing a book of short phrases so long as (1) each phrase stands alone or is only a very small portion of a larger work, (2) each short phrase is not ?the heart? of a larger work, and (3) the phrases are not attributable solely to one living person [or dead for less than 70 years].
Your copyright in such a book attaches ONLY to the sum of its name, the particular sequence of the phrases, and any creative designs and extraneous material that you add. You do NOT own any copyright interest in any of the short phrases.
As for creating posters, Attorney Koslyn is certainly correct that if you put a short phrase on a poster that does NOT give you a copyright interest in the short phrase. Attorney Ross is also correct that your copyright in the poster attaches ONLY to the other design features of the poster [which he?s listed in his response] and not the short phrase.
You need to speak with a copyright attorney before you publish the book or sell a poster. Good luck.
