Coincidentally I found this relevant blog on the recent abuses in copyrights.
http://zenhabits.net/2009/04/feel-the-fear-and-do-it-anyway-or-the-privatization-of-the-english-language/
I know it is a little off the topic of music downloads.
Hmmm, an interesting case there. Not quite a cut 'n dry as the blogger wants it to be, I think. The moral high horse that the comments seem to ride in on (and with which I agree) is that the phrase should be able to be freely spoken in daily life. Fair enough.
But surely he would agree that it would not be permissable to publish a second book, in the wake of the first, called "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway," with the intention of profitting by association with the reputation of the original. The author doesn't give details of the context in which he originally used the phrase (although on this page he has made it the title), and I don't know if he blogs for fun or profit, but if the plaintiff could show that the blogger is intending to profit from an association with her product, then... I don't know. It's grey...
Of course any copyright or trademark should not infringe on the freedom of speech, but if it is knowingly and intentionally used in a commercial capacity with an intent to deceive the consumer, and no other overriding principal is in play (such as trying to copyright material which should be universally available), then I'd find for the plaintiff. If the blogger is in it for profit over there, then I would view the linked article as rabble-rousing. I'd also want to see if a similar pattern had been repeated in the past or if he had a history of shady behavior. The very difficult thing for the plaintiff to do would be to prove the blogger's intention of (1) impersonating the book's author or of (2) implying a stewardship of the book's author's ideas with the intention of making a profit. After all, you can't sue someone who runs a blog for profit if all they say is "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway sucks, don't buy it!" Whether the blog is for profit or not, they are free to express an opinion.
I have to reserve judgement in the absence of these facts. It would be a hard case for the plaintiff to make but that doesn't mean that anything goes. On the flip side, I would expect a threat of litigation to be reasonably justified. If it's plainly just groundless legal bullying then there should be some censure for both the lawyer and the book's author.
