Introduction
I have the most common name in the world, but I’ve never been able to trademark it. My mom named me after herself – not realizing that this would make it impossible for either of us to use our names as trademarks or service marks (which are words or symbols that identify your goods or services as being from a particular source). But how can you copyright a name?
This post explores some ways that you might be able to protect your name from being used by others without having to opt for Trademark Registration.
The USPTO does not allow for the registration of just a name of a person as a trademark or service mark.
The USPTO does not allow for the registration of just a name of a person as a trademark or service mark. Therefore, if you want to protect your name, you must use it in connection with some other product or business that you have created. This can include:
- A service
- A product
If you are the founder of the company and hold an executive position there, then you can use your name as part of the business and obtain trademark protection for it.
If you went to law school, consider creating a CLE course that uses your name and offers continuing legal education (CLE) credit.
As a practicing attorney (or aspiring one), you can create a CLE course that uses your name and offers continuing legal education (CLE) credit. If you are unable to complete law school or pass the bar exam, this is still an option for earning revenue.
You can also teach law as an adjunct professor at a university or college in the United States. You don’t need to have completed law school or passed the bar exam to become a professor, but you will need to go through training programs provided by each university and state where you plan on teaching.
If you are well-known as an expert in your field, consider teaching seminars or workshops on your expertise. The experience is a great way to build your brand and expand your network. Also, if you do well enough at teaching, you might be able to use it as a way to get hired by someone else. It’s also good for getting clients—if anyone sees what kind of instructor you are, they might want to work with that person!
You could also become a carpenter and use your name to brand your text books and instructional manuals.
You could also offer your services as a teacher or other professional who requires the use of a trademarked name in his line of work.
However, if you are an employee of the company and use your name in connection with their product or service, then you will not be able to obtain trademark protection for itIf you are interested in becoming a practicing attorney, the best way to do so is to enroll in law school. If you’re unable to complete law school or pass the bar exam, there are other options availableIf you’re not the teaching type, there are other ways to build your brand. One way is through public speaking engagements. Get in touch with local organizations that might be interested in hearing from an expert on a particular topic and offer to speak for free if they’ll help promote the event. You might also consider doing webinars or podcasts about your area of expertise—it makes it easier for people who can’t afford to hire you in person to get a taste of what you have to offer…
If you want to keep it simple, star in your own YouTube channel and blog about the things you know best. You can use your name as a brand, trademark and service mark. You can also use it as a trade dress or collective mark if you’d like to expand on that idea. If you want even more protection over the use of your name, consider using it as an certification mark or having an attorney draft up some legislation for any other categories that may apply to your situation.
You could also try to trademark your name in a more general sense. For example, if you’re a famous chef and own a restaurant by the same name, you can use that trademark to offer cooking classes or even sell branded kitchenware such as aprons and pots and pans.
There is no straightforward way to trademark a name, but there are some creative solutions.
The name of a single person can be trademarked as part of a logo, brand name and slogan. If the name is part of a domain name, that could also be considered as an option for trademarking. However, if your goal is to protect your personal identity or likeness from others copying it, then you’ll need to consider how these options affect that goal.
For example: You want to make sure no one else can use your last name in their business’ domain name because they might try to trick people into thinking they were affiliated with you or taking advantage of your reputation. In this case it would be better if someone else didn’t have access to using those words together online and at least then you know where everyone stands on this issue when looking up information about themselves online!
If the name is for a product or service that you are selling, then it’s important to have some sort of trademark protection in place. If someone else starts using your company name and logo without permission, then you could lose sales and customers because of their actions.
Conclusion
The best way to register brand name is to use it for something productive. If you want to become famous for something, do it! The more people that know about you and what you stand for, the better off everyone will be. The more recognizable your brand becomes from being used as an identifier in other places – such as on social media platforms – the easier it will be for others to recognize when they see it elsewhere and know who’s involved with this product or service.