Is it possible to copyright a name

Most businesses choose federal protection, but if your business is very localized you might be content with only a state-level trademark.

Corporations and LLCs : When you form your business entity with the state, business name registration is included. Sole proprietors and partnerships : If you register a "fictitious name" form with the state, county, or city, your business name is registered at the same time.

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. Federal registration protects you in all 50 states, plus offers additional benefits :.

If you haven't started doing business under the name you want to trademark, the filing will involve some extra steps and cost. If you use an attorney, you'll also need to pay legal fees to prepare the statement and proof that you are using the name. Your business name is protected the moment you start using it, even without being registered, as long as it doesn't already belong to someone else. Common law trademark protects you locally from another business using your name.

If you've registered your business entity or fictitious DBA name with the state, you already have some federal protection, too. A federal trademark lets you register your business name in all 50 states and in other countries. If your name is trademarked federally, you can sue in federal court to protect your branding. Lawsuits might let you collect cash awards or even press criminal charges against anyone who tries to use your business name.

You'll also be making sure that you're not violating someone else's trademark by using a similar name. All three offer legal protection for businesses against theft, but they cover different types of property. Trademarks or service marks protect business names, phrases, and logos that identify the company or its products. Plus, if registration is completed within five years of publication, it is also considered prima facie evidence i.

A trademark, on the other hand, is a form of intellectual property protection that covers words, phrases, symbols, or designs that distinguish a particular brand or source of goods in comparison to others.

Therefore, a trademark protects items such as:. In short, a trademark can apply to anything that essentially brands a business or identifies a product or company. Here are some well-known examples:. The Tabasco bottle with the hexagonal screw top is trademarked. The McDonalds Golden Arch symbol is trademarked. This being said, when it comes to trademarks, it's important to distinguish between a trademark and a service mark.

Although the term "trademark" is typically used to encompass both trademarks and service marks, a service mark is specifically used to distinguish the services of one business from those provided by another. All of this being said, another important difference between copyright vs. Overall, trademark rights come from actual use—in other words, using your mark in the course of doing business—and therefore, your trademark can last forever, as long as you continue to use it. On the other hand, however, just as copyright registration helps better protect you under the law, an official trademark registration does the same.

Along these lines, your trademark registration can also last forever, provided you file specific documents and pay the required fees. So, although registration of a trademark is not necessary, it's certainly one of the best ways to help protect your business's logo, brand name, or slogan. First, you'll want to do a trademark search to ensure that your branding materials are not already in use. Additionally, you might decide to work with a trademark lawyer to assist in trademark registration, however, you can also complete an online application yourself through the U.

This being said, if, for example, you wanted to trademark your business name, you would check with your state trademark office to make sure the name is not currently in use, and then complete the registration process.

Along these lines, it's important to note that there's a difference between state and federal trademark registration, with the latter offering the most legal protection. Moreover, when it comes to a business name specifically, you can register a business name with your state or county clerk by filing a DBA, but this is not the same as trademarking your business name.

As a reminder, the differences can be summarized as:. 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.

Copyright expires after a set period of time, whereas a trademark doesn't expire provided the mark continues to be used. Overall, both of these intellectual property protections can be important if they're applicable to your business. Therefore, if you're unsure of your legal rights or the process involved with officially registering a copyright or trademark, it might be helpful to work with a business attorney or online legal service for advice and guidance.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet. What's the difference between a copyright vs. Please review the additional information for the SOU use and extension request processes.

Watch the Statement of Use video for more information about submitting a statement of use. To continue the application process, the applicant must file a petition to revive the application within two months of the abandonment date. Watch the Petitions video for more information about how to revive an abandoned application. A statement of use SOU must meet minimum filing requirements before an examining attorney fully reviews it.

If the SOU does meet the minimum filing requirements, then the examining attorney reviews it to determine whether it is acceptable to permit registration. Submission of an SOU does not guarantee registration. If no refusals or additional requirements are identified, the examining attorney approves the SOU.

This is the same process that occurs prior to publication of the mark if the examining attorney determines that legal requirements must be met. The process and timeframes remain the same, except that if issues are ultimately resolved and the statement of use is approved, the USPTO issues a registration within approximately two months.

If all issues are not resolved, the application will abandon. If your response does not overcome all objections, the examining attorney will issue a final refusal office action. If you disagree with the final refusal, you may, for an additional fee, appeal the decision to the TTAB.

To keep the registration "live," the registrant must file specific maintenance documents. If your registration is cancelled or expired, your only option is to file a brand new application and begin the entire process again from the very beginning. The fact that your mark was previously registered does not guarantee registration when you submit a new application. Watch the Post-Registration Issues video for more information about specific registration maintenance documents that must be filed.

Even if your mark registers, you should monitor the status of your registration on an annual basis through the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval TSDR system. It is particularly important to check the status of your registration after you make any of the filings required to keep your registration alive including between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date and between the ninth and tenth year after the registration date.

It is critical that you maintain and update your address, including your email address. You are responsible for enforcing your rights if you receive a registration, because the USPTO does not "police" the use of marks. If a right holder suspects that a registered mark is being infringed upon or may be subject to future infringement, the registered mark can be recorded with U. Customs and Border Protection through its e-Recordation application.

For other assistance, please see our contact us page. Step 1 Anchor Step 1 Is a trademark application right for you?

Filing basis Before filing an application, you must know what your "basis" for filing is. Trademark attorney Do I have to use one? Yes, if you are foreign-domiciled. No, if you are domiciled in the United States or its territories. Although you are not required to have an attorney, we strongly encourage you to hire a U.

Monitoring application status Throughout the entire process, you are responsible for monitoring the progress of your application through the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval TSDR system. Applicant address and email address It is critical that, you maintain and update your address, including your email address. USPTO issues letter office action If the examining attorney determines that a mark should not be registered, the examining attorney will issue a letter office action to you explaining any substantive reasons for refusal , and any technical or procedural deficiencies in the application.

Applicant timely responds to letter If the examining attorney sends you an office action, you, or your attorney, if you have one, must submit a response to the office action that is received by the USPTO within six months of the issue date of the office action, or the application will be declared abandoned. Registration certificate issues for applications based on use If the mark is based on use in commerce, a foreign registration, or an extension of protection of an international registration to the United States under Section 66 a , and no party files an opposition or request to extend the time to oppose, the USPTO will register the mark and send the owner a certificate of registration.