Can i trademark a nickname [From Experts]

Last updated : Sept 11, 2022

What names 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.

Can I copyright my username?

Can I Trademark a Username? Yes, you can trademark a username. If you are using the the username to distinguish a product or service from a market competitor, you can apply for a trademark.

Can a single word be trademarked?

A trademark registration with the USPTO is a registered trademark and gets marked with the registered trademark (®) symbol. You don't have to register a word with the USPTO to get trademark status. A word is a trademark if that word identifies a brand, regardless of whether the word itself is registered.

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.

How much does it cost to trademark a username?

Costs vary by region, but $50–$150 is typical. If you use your legal name as your business name, you won't be required to register your name and will need to apply to your Secretary of State if you want a trademark at the state level.

How do I copyright a name for free?

You can not register a trademark for free. However, you can establish something known as a "common law trademark" for free, simply by opening for business. The benefit of relying on common law trademark rights is that it's free, and you don't need to do any specific work filling out forms, etc.

Why you should trademark your name?

Names hold power in business. So establishing ownership of and rights to a business name is an important step for businesses that want to ensure a name remains one-of-a-kind. Registering a trademark helps protect a name or brand from intellectual property theft or misuse as a business grows.

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.

How much does it cost to copyright a word?

The fee at the U.S. Copyright Office is $ 55 for most applications, or $ 35 if your application (1) has one author, and (2) the author is also the owner, and (3) you are just registering a single work (not a collection of photos), and (4) it was not a work made for hire.

What happens if you use a trademarked word?

The law allows you to use a trademark without getting the owner's permission for: Informational use: You use it to editorialize or educate about a specific product or service. Comparison use: You use it as part of an accurate comparison between products or services.

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 someone steal a trademark?

Although your business may have been the originator of the trademark, if the trademark was not officially registered, another company could obtain it for use in geographic areas outside your use, and essentially “steal” your trademark.

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.

What is the cheapest way to trademark?

The basic cost to trademark a business name ranges from $225 to $600 per trademark class. This is the cost to submit your trademark application to the USPTO. The easiest and least expensive way to register your trademark is online, through the USPTO's Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).

Should I trademark my social media name?

If you have an established online presence, you should consider filing a trademark for your username. While not legally required, a trademark is a necessary feature for growing brands with social media exposure.

How long does it take to trademark a name?

Usually, the process takes 12 to 18 months. Registering your trademark is a complex procedure that involves your application moving through various stages. Learning about each stage in the process will help you understand why getting a trademark takes as long as it does.

What's the difference between copyright and trademark?

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 is a dead trademark?

“A dead or abandoned status for a trademark application means that specific application is no longer under prosecution within the USPTO, and would not be used as a bar against your filing.”

How do you know if a name is trademarked?

You can search for federally registered trademarks by using the free trademark database on the USPTO's website. To start, go to the USPTO's Trademark Electronic Business Center and choose "Search trademarks." Then follow the instructions you see on the screen. Check state trademark databases.

Is it better to trademark or copyright a name?

A trademark can protect your name and logo in case someone else wants to use them for their own purposes. Also, you cannot really copyright a name, since copyright protects artistic works. This is exactly why you need to have a trademark that protects your company's intellectual property, such as your logo.

Check these related keywords for more interesting articles :
Intellectual property law and human rights
Intellectual property office turkey
How to register trademark in philippines
Can i use a brand name in a song
How to register and trademark a name
Do i need to trademark my brand name
How to brand my gas station
How to check copyright availability
What is intellectual property agreement
How to copyright my app
How to brand your dropshipping products
How to patent a cosmetic product
Brand merger strategies
How to patent song lyrics
Why is it necessary to protect intellectual property ip

Write a comment

hey everybody we are talking all about how to trademark your personal name today and when it makes sense to do that so let's get started i'm nicole schwartz i'm an attorney for women business owners so i help women to protect their businesses and their brands with trademarks and this is my puppy russ and she's gonna be snuggling with us today so we're talking about trademarks and the trademark is the exclusive right to use your brand name so this is really important when you're a small business because you want to make sure that nobody else can copy you nobody else can use the exact same brand name as you and you also want to make sure that it's available and that nobody else trademarks it before you so the trademark like i was saying and make sure that you're the only one who can use that brand name to sell what you sell so for example my brand name is sprout law so i'm the only one who can use sprout law or sprout you know any variation of that to provide legal services or you know lululemon is the only brand that can use the name lululemon or anything similar to sell yoga pants and apparel and whatever else they sell so it's kind of how it works and you want to make sure when you're building a business and when you're building a brand that you're actually able to use it and that you know nobody else can copy you so that's why the trademark is so important and it makes sense you know when you're when you have a brand name when you have a logo and you have a tagline product names hashtags there's a lot of different things that you can trademark and you can also trademark your personal name and this makes sense if you know your business is your personal name if you go by your personal name in your business um and so you know you can think about it like nobody's ever going to be able to stop you from using your personal name like in a personal capacity like nobody can say like you're not allowed to be called that by your friends anymore or like change your legal name like nobody's gonna force you in that way but they can say like you're not allowed to um sell you know apparel with your personal name or you're not allowed to sell um you know photography services with your personal name um if somebody else has a trademark for that so you think about it like um you know like kylie jenner or like you know any of these celebrities like they have trademarks on their personal name and you know a lot of celebrities do that because they're well known but it also makes sense if that is your business name as well because as your business grows and as your business becomes well known um you know if that's your business name you want to make sure that nobody else is going to be able to you know come out with the exact same name as you because then there's two of you it gets really confusing um if we're trying to figure out like which britney johnson does photography um which brittany johnson do i want you know it's tricky so um that's why it makes sense to protect a personal name and they i've noticed that they are um they're taking less than brand names like so to me like a personal name it's not as important to protect as a you know another type of brand name um like sprout law for example or you know just like thinking about like a regular business name like nike or starbucks or whatever um personal names to me like i don't see them come up as often um i don't trademark them as often um i don't i don't see people trademarking them as often but they do they are trademarking them a lot so um to me it's like it's still important but um there's maybe like a little bit of room to like not protect it there too if it was my personal name and i was building a business off of it i personally would protect it um just because like i've been through the process of having to read brand before i've been through the process of having copycats before and it's frustrating on both ends so i want to make sure i'm not in that position um but that's just me personally so the process to protect your personal name is the same as you protect any other kind of trademark so you're going to start with a trademark search to make sure that the brand name is actually available uh make sure that your personal name is available because there are a lot of trademarks out there already so there are a lot of people who have already trademarked their personal name um to sell certain things and so um you want to make sure that it's actually available then you will file the trademark um it takes them about three months to review it and then according to the trademark they uh the trademark office they deny it most of the time so you're gonna wait three months and then 84 percent of the time it gets denied and there's a lot of different reasons why it gets denied um it can be denied as too similar to somebody else or you know maybe you didn't file the application correctly things like that and so we usually go back and forth with the trademark office for another like a month to two months um to make changes or submit legal arguments stuff like that um to get the application approved and then assuming that the trademark office approves it then it goes to publication so they put it on a website for 30 days and that gives other people a chance to object if they feel like it's too similar to their brand so they're not going to notify anybody or anything like that but people are monitoring this trademark website and so um people can object and if anybody objects in you'll negotiate with them otherwise the application gets approved if you've already been using the brand that it's going to be approved if you're haven't started using it yet that's okay too they're going to conditionally approve it and then they'll give you some time to start using it so it's kind of how the process works um like i was saying it it usually takes um some time so it's kind of a long process but it's definitely worth it if you are building a brand and a personal brand that you really want to protect and you want to be able to use for a long time so if you have any questions about protecting your personal brand feel free to pop them in the comments below and if you want to learn more about the trademark process we have a free webinar that's going to walk you through the entire process step by step all the little details in between all the tips and tricks um how you know how the process works how long it takes how much it costs when it makes sense all that kind of stuff so feel free to sign up um below as well and i will talk to you guys soon

Thanks for your comment Derek Hensdill, have a nice day.
- Tory Field, Staff Member

Thanks for this interesting article

Thanks GaindronaHaiGz your participation is very much appreciated
- Tory Field

About the author

Tory Field

I've studied political psychology at Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland and I am an expert in public service. I usually feel crushed. My previous job was air crew member I held this position for 23 years, I love talking about checkers (draughts) and heliskiing. Huge fan of Avani Gregg I practice figure skating and collect barbie dolls.