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[CPark]

I'd like to name my small business after a documentary that a friend of mine made.  (Unfortunately we are no longer friends.)  The documentary had a short late night run on HBO and has won some honorable mentions at a few fim festivals.  My small business does not have anything to do with the content of the film.  I like the name of the fim and feel that it suits my business.  Would this be considered copyright infringement?  What if I used the design and font of the film's title?  

[JSonnabend]

You've correctly posted this question in the trademark forum, but you've incorrectly framed it as a copyright question.

Generally speaking, copyrights don't protect titles or short phrases.  Thus, it's highly unlikely that your ex-friend can come after you for that.

On the other hand, while trademarks generally don't apply to single-work titles either, they can apply to series of works, such as film series.  Assuming that your ex-friend has valid trademark rights in the name, the inquiry is reduced to the standard "likelihood of confusion" test (and perhaps an implied endorsement test as well).  If the ordinary consumer would not be likely to confuse your services with the producer of the film series, you may be ok on the trademark front.

All in all, you'll need to speak directly with a qualified IP attorney to go over the details of your situation.  No amount of free advice here (other than "speak to an attorney") is worth a penny more than you're paying for it.

- Jeff

[Jennifer Geng]

 
It depends on what pricinple of trademrk application your country enforced.

Generally, it is not a infringement issue for you to try to registered the trademark for trademark law is different with copyright law .