Copyright and the name of a Pop Band
Copyright is used to protect artistically unique and original material. This can be drawings, books or songs. Copyright protection comes into being the moment you create something unique and original. The general term used is “It must not be substantially the same and must be substantially different”.
To be able to claim copyright you need to be able to proved the work existed on a specific date. People use different ways to record that their unique piece of work existed on a provable date. They might post a manuscript to themselves or time stamp photography it.
Claiming Copyright protection for the name of a band is a grey area and open to interpretation. Copyright doesn’t take into account what you are using the word or combination of words for. The less words used in your combination, the less likely you can claim they are unique and therefore qualify for copyright protection. You can appreciate that it would be difficult to claim that the combination of two words to form “The Beatles” or “The Beach Boys” was unique and original, but all the unique combination of words required in the song “Yesterday” give it copyright protection.
The bands “Abba”, “1910 Fruitgum Company” and “Dexy’s midnight runners” probably fit the requirement of being unique and original. Bands don’t normally claim Copyright protection of their name, even if it exists, because having “Dexy’s Midnight Runners” printed on a tee shirt is a free advert for the Band.
Does the combination of the two words “Cupid’s” and “Inspiration” qualify for Copyright protection as a work of art. Unlike “Abba” “Cupids” and “Inspiration” are words that were in common use before their combination. I can see that the combination of the words “Dexy’s midnight runners” might never existed before, but I can also see that someone might have written in a story that includes the line,
“The site of the couple running along the beach was cupids inspiration to fire an arrow at them”.
So it is unlikely that Cupid’s Inspiration meets the criteria required for copyright protection.