Are names copyrighted or trademarked [Deep Research]

Last updated : Sept 17, 2022

Are people's names copyrighted?

No. Names are not protected by copyright law. Some names may be protected under trademark law. Contact the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or see Circular 33 "Copyright Protection Not Available for Names, Titles, or Short Phrases".

Are names trademarked?

Unlike surnames, personal names (first names and first names used with last names) can act as trademarks without proof of secondary meaning because they are considered to be inherently distinctive.

Is trademark same as copyright?

Copyright protects original work, whereas a trademark protects items that distinguish or identify a particular business from another. Copyright is generated automatically upon the creation of original work, whereas a trademark is established through common use of a mark in the course of business.

What does it mean when a name is copyrighted?

When someone is looking to “copyright a name” they most likely mean they are looking to protect the name itself as a brand, which would be a trademark. Copyright: protects artistic works fixed in a tangible medium (books, movies, songs, paintings).

What if someone has trademarked my name?

Infringing on the Trademark Name If the other business has a trademark, the current owner can infringe upon this legal protection by using the same company name. Then, he or she will need to change the name to avoid a possibly detrimental lawsuit based on the trademark already in use.

When should you trademark a name?

In most cases, the best time to file a trademark application for your business name is right after you've filed paperwork to form your LLC or corporation. By doing this before your business officially launches, it protects the name for commercial use once you're up and running.

Can I trademark a name already in use?

If you're wondering, "can you trademark something that already exists," the simple answer is "no." Generally speaking, if somebody has used a trademark before you, you can't register the trademark for yourself.

Can someone buy your name?

People trademark their names all the time, including actors, authors, sports figures, and other celebrities, alive or dead. To be trademarked, your name must meet two criteria: It must be unique and not used by anyone else. It must have a business use.

What can you not trademark?

• Proper names or likenesses without consent from the person.
• Generic terms, phrases, or the like.
• Government symbols or insignia.
• Vulgar or disparaging words or phrases.
• The likeness of a U.S. President, former or current.
• Immoral, deceptive, or scandalous words or symbols.
• Sounds or short motifs.

Is Mickey Mouse a trademark or copyright?

People can now create their own stories with the original Mickey Mouse character. However, there are still legal hurdles like trademark law. Disney holds Mickey Mouse trademarks for a variety of commercial uses. And while copyright is time-limited, trademarks are not.

How long does a trademark last?

A federal trademark lasts 10 years from the date of registration, with 10-year renewal terms. Between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date, the registrant must file an affidavit to state that the mark is still in use.

Can 2 businesses have the same name?

Can Two Companies Have the Same Name? Yes, however, certain requirements must be met in order for it to not constitutes trademark infringement and to determine which party is the rightful owner of the name.

Can another business use my name?

Once you register, nobody else can use the name locally, which protects your business brand. If someone new starts using your name, contact the city or county office you registered with. It may be the new business hasn't registered its DBA. In that case, the county can inform the company it's violating the law.

Can the same name be trademarked twice?

However, if the two products are not related to one another and not likely to cause any confusion, then trademark law will not prevent the two companies from using the same name. Put differently, if the same name is registered in different trademark classes, this does not give rise to an infringement claim.

Can I trademark a name without a business?

You can't register a trademark for non-business purposes. You can only trademark a brand name that you're using in business or that you intend to use in business in the near future. You can't register a generic or descriptive name.

How hard is it to trademark a name?

Registering a trademark for a company name is pretty straightforward. Many businesses can file an application online in less than 90 minutes, without a lawyer's help. The simplest way to register is on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site, www.uspto.gov.

Can two products have the same name?

Good or bad? If you pay attention to the communication that different brands are doing on the market, you will notice in many cases, brands that are using the same name for a different type of business or product category. These brands are also called “Brand Twins”.

Can someone use your name as a domain?

Steele: In most cases, it is unlawful. Under U.S. law 15 § U.S.C. 1129, it is unlawful to register a domain name that consists of, or is similar to, the name of another living person without their consent (note there are few exceptions).

Can I patent my name?

No, It Isn't Possible to Patent a Name Patents are only issued for inventions, ornamental designs of goods, or plants, not names. To protect your brand name and logo, you will need to utilize the trademark registration service.

Do famous people trademark their name?

Many celebrities have succeeded in registering their names as trademarks including, U.S. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Beyonce´, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, Justin Bieber, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, Kylie Jenner etc.

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he folks today we're going to be discussing the differences between copyright and Trademark just a quick disclaimer to say that I am NOT an IP professional if you do require intellectual property advice please do seek out professional help so what is copyright copyright is there to protect your original creative works you can't copyright an idea you can copyright things like literary work dramatic works Musical and artistic work as long as they are in a tangible form what do I mean by a tangible form well things like books film recordings websites software photography paintings or graphic design elements like business cards or brochures having the copyright then gives you the exclusive rights to perform distribute make copies of or even make adaptations of your original creative work here in the UK there is no requirement to register your copyright it just happens automatically as soon as the work is created this may be different in your location so please check with your local Copyright Office or intellectual property office to get the full facts on how copyright is assigned in your country protection on copyright generally lasts for the lifetime of the author Plus 70 years again this may be different in your country so please check once you have created your work and the copyright is assigned you then have permission to use that little copyright symbol the little C inside the circle along with the year that the work was created however there is no requirement to use that little C symbol the copyright still remains with you at all times so let's move on to registered marks there are two types of registered marks and both of these can be used to protect the sale of products or services for a business the first is the trademark which is used to protect goods or products and the second is a service mark which you would use to protect services that you provide generally though people tend to use the town trademark to cover both our trademark and the service mark for the purpose of this video I will be using the term registered mark which covers both examples of things that can be covered by a registered mark would be a company name a slogan a sound a color under logo once you have that registered mark you have the exclusive rights to use that mark with your product or service it allows you to stop other companies businesses or organizations from using a similar mark to promote or sell a similar product or service what you can't do is you can't prevent someone from using a similar mark if they are using it to promote or sell a dissimilar product or service let's look at this example of two locals one for Sun Microsystems and the other for Columbia Sportswear now visually these two logos are very similar especially if they were both in black for example and you just had a quick glance at the logos the reason that both of these similar logos can exist and be registered as marks is that there are two completely different industries Sun Microsystems is in software and computing and Columbia is in sportswear two very different industries now however let's say Sun Microsystems were in the spa for businesses while then we would have an issue because they would both have similar marks selling or trading similar products this can't happen so what would happen here is that the company that registered their mark first would be able to prevent the second company from registering the mark which is similar to theirs and in a similar industry in its simplest form registered marks are there to help the consumer differentiate between brands and the products and services that they sell if when you try to register a new mark the internal Property Office will look at existing marks and if they feel that by registering your mark this may cause confusion for the consumer when they are looking to buy a product or service from someone who is in the same industry as you they will deny you that registration once you have registered your mark though you can use the little R symbol inside the circle next to your logo or your brand name unlike copyright registered marks can last indefinitely but they do have to be renewed every 10 years one thing that you cannot do is you cannot register a mark and sit it on a shelf for use at a later date for a registered mark to be viable it must be in constant use so those are the main differences between copyright under registered mark or as I mentioned earlier most people just use the town trademark I hope this cleared up any confusion you may have had in the past about the two terms and you can move forward safe in the knowledge that you have the correct understanding for both for more brand and design advice why not join hundreds of other brand rockers who have signed up to my rock your brand monthly email newsletter it's absolutely free and the advice that I give in there will help you to strengthen your brand and stand out from your competition head on over to rock your brand or quote at UK and sign up until I see you next time folks stay creative

Thanks for your comment Harrison Havlicek, have a nice day.
- Hassan Henness, Staff Member

hey what's up guys so in this video we're going to be breaking down the difference between copyrights and trademarks if you're not sure what the difference between them are this video is for you perhaps you're wondering if you should trademark or copyright your logo business name product line this video is going to answer the following questions one how are trademarks and copyrights different two what can be trademarked and what can be copyrighted and three how should you approach copyrights and trademarks and what should you think about in terms of project protecting your logo business name and branding now before we delve too deep into this topic let me just say that at the end of this video you will be able to choose what's best for you whether it's a copyright or trademark and i have individual copyright and trademark videos that walk you through them separately in way more detail so go ahead and earmark those videos so you can watch them later after you finish watching this one all right so let's get down to the nitty gritty what is a trademark anything that identifies the source of a good or service think about it in terms of where does it come from who made it where does it originate from for example if i showed you this would you know where this came from most of you guys knew as soon as you saw it what it was and i'm not even showing you the logo for this but you understand where the source of this box this fry box came from or if i showed you these and i said hey where do you guys think i got these from who made this versus if i showed you these and then it's kind of clear who made them where the source is for this and you'll notice i never showed you the logo for either of those goods but i'm sure that you knew where i got them from right that's the power of the trademark so it might be a logo it might be a color it might be a symbol but it gives the brand recognition right i always tell people to flip these words trademark and copyright so let's flip the word trademark it's the mark in the trade there are classes of trades that businesses will fall under so for example you might have a clothing footwear headyear versus services for food and drinks and you register your mark based on the applicable trade which means that a cell phone repair company called in and out is probably not going to infringe on a burger company called in and out two different trades right so now let's talk about what can be trademarked this is the fun stuff so i'm going to give you a small list um you have words logos symbols colors sounds smells slogans for a detailed list of what can be trademarked as well as examples of each be sure to download the trademark verse copyright 101 packet at the link below it's 100 free and it will help you to better understand how to approach protecting your own branded assets so that you can be confident when you go into the marketplace and start making that shmoney now something that's very distinct about trademarks and copyrights is how they're obtained trademarks are filed via an application they are not automatic now why would you trademark these things right you trademark to eliminate confusion in the marketplace because your brand represents a certain company culture set of values a guarantee of quality and cultural currency so to protect other companies from trying to use your branding on their items or to intentionally or accidentally cause confusion about the source of a good or service you create a trademark and that's basically to say look buddy you are trying to reap the benefits of my company's authority in the marketplace to make more sales that's not gonna fly uh say for example this box had a golden cue on it not going to fly right and it's to protect the consumer really trademarks are to make sure that when people purchase they're getting what they want or getting what they thought now if you guys found this video valuable hit the like button so i know to make more content just like this and don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell so you'll be notified when i post more videos all right now let's hop on over to copyright what is a copyright we're going to do the same thing we did with trademark flip the word write to copy reproduce alter use sell copies of perform or display the work or artistic expression this is about work product ownership think who maintains control as the rightful owner of this art trademark is about the source of goods and services and trademarks have to be filed copyrights do not have to be filed because they are automatically given to the artist or the creator of the work all right so let's break that down a little bit more the copyright is to protect the creator what can be copyrighted blogs all right so writers blogs video photos photographers music slogans songs to name a few this is not an exhaustive list if you guys want more of what can and cannot be copyrighted or trademarked be sure to get that download but let's walk you through a hypothetical you have a logo and you partner with an organization and maybe your logo is a lot like the mcdonald's golden arch it's always in gold and red this organization you partner with turns your logo pink for breast cancer awareness without your permission that's a copyright violation potentially and if you want to know the way around this be sure to watch to watch my copyright video in this series

Thanks vangstokq your participation is very much appreciated
- Hassan Henness

About the author

Hassan Henness

I've studied computational archaeology at Snow College in Ephraim and I am an expert in semiotic anthropology. I usually feel cranky. My previous job was elementary school teacher I held this position for 23 years, I love talking about comic book collecting and jump roping. Huge fan of Rachel Bilson I practice wrestling: freestyle and collect phone cards.