Can i trademark my real name [FAQ]

Last updated : Aug 16, 2022

Should you trademark your own name?

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.

Can you copyright a human name?

You can't copyright a name. You can copyright written artistic works (like books), but not names or phrases.

Can you patent your own name?

No, It Isn't Possible to Patent a Name To protect your brand name and logo, you will need to utilize the trademark registration service. Both patents and trademarks are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. You will need to submit the proper application and pay the appropriate fees.

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.

What happens when I trademark my name?

You can trademark your name if it has business or commercial value. Trademarking your name gives you an additional brand and keeps others from using your name. To trademark your name you must meet specific requirements with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Can you copyright your face?

Many wonder, “Can I trademark my face?” Unfortunately, the immediate answer is no. Copyright is only valid for man-made creative ventures. The creative work must be a product of deliberate effort through creativity and conscious choices.

Why would a person copyright their name?

Registering a trademark for your personal name can be a good way to protect yourself from people who want to profit by using your name without your authorization. It can also help if you are a victim of cybersquatting.

Can you trademark yourself?

Yes, you can trademark yourself, as long as you are in connection with your products or services. This information was provided by our founding attorney, Xavier Morales, Esq. It is possible for an individual to trademark an image of themselves as a product's logo.

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.

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 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.

Can you trademark a single word?

A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things that identifies your goods or services. It's how customers recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from your competitors. The word “trademark” can refer to both trademarks and service marks.

What qualifies for a trademark?

Two basic requirements must be met for a mark to be eligible for trademark protection: it must be in use in commerce and it must be distinctive. The first requirement, that a mark be used in commerce, arises because trademark law is constitutionally grounded in the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce.

How do you copyright 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.

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.

How much is a trademark?

No matter how you file, you will pay a minimum of $250 to apply for a Federal trademark. But considering the importance of your trademark, and the potential complexities you face when filing, it's not a bad idea to use a lawyer or filing service.

What is not protected by copyright?

Not Protected by Copyright: Titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.

Can a celebrity trademark their face?

Trademark law protects individuals from the unauthorized use of their image or likeness even where the celebrity owns no trademark registration for his or her name, image, or likeness.

Do you own the rights to your own likeness?

The short answer is no. Individuals do not have an absolute ownership right in their names or likenesses. But the law does give individuals certain rights of “privacy” and “publicity” which provide limited rights to control how your name, likeness, or other identifying information is used under certain circumstances.

Whats 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.

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Thanks for this great article

Thanks for your comment Nelly Hosmer, have a nice day.
- Ronald Nietzer, Staff Member

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 panickingF your participation is very much appreciated
- Ronald Nietzer

About the author

Ronald Nietzer

I've studied aesthetics / philosophy of art at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview and I am an expert in bioengineering. I usually feel complacent. My previous job was sawing machine operator I held this position for 30 years, I love talking about electronics and camogie. Huge fan of Leighton Meester I practice cricket and collect fabric and textiles.