Copyright infringement on spelling of invented names?
Years ago I invented a name for a kingdom/country in my YA fantasy novel, which I am on the verge of self-publishing. At random, I discovered a self-published author had the same invented name for her kingdom; only the spelling differed by one letter.
I really don’t want to change my kingdom’s name, but I also don’t want to face anything legal. Is this considered copyright infringement, or is it okay to move forward with publishing my book as is?
Thank you in advance for any help/advice anyone has to offer.
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As the answer by @D . A. Hosek said, single words and short phrases are not protected by copyright. However, if a number of names were all duplicated, particularly if there were also other similarities, ther might be an argument that the newer work was a derivative work and thus an infringement of copyright. This is a fact-based determination, but a single duplicated name is very unlikely to cause a work to be considered derivative.
Copyright does not apply to single words or even phrases (including titles). The only possible issue here is if the other author trademarked her country name which is unlikely. So don't worry about it.
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