diff --git a/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/meta.py b/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/meta.py
index 68deca5e10..b02ae2dbff 100644
--- a/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/meta.py
+++ b/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/meta.py
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ def metadata_from_filename(name, pat=None):
             mi.isbn = si
         except (IndexError, ValueError):
             pass
-    if not mi.title:
+    if mi.is_null('title'):
         mi.title = name
     return mi