How to Copyright a Brand Name?

Introduction

Branding a product or service is important for any business. A brand name helps you to distinguish yourself and your products from competitors, which can help you attract more customers. Branding also allows you to build up an image that people associate with your company and its products—for instance, Coca-Cola has been synonymous with happiness since 1886.

However, there are many companies that try to copycat or “rip off” successful brands, so it’s important that your company protect its trademark rights in order to prevent copycats from stealing sales away from your brand (and potentially damaging your reputation). To do this effectively requires registering a trademark for the specific brand name you wish to protect—but there are several steps involved in doing so.

Step 1. Check the USPTO Database

The USPTO database is a searchable service of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that provides access to records of all registered trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks (certifications), trade names, and designs.

You can access the USPTO database by going to https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/.

The content on this site is updated weekly.

Step 2. Register Your Brand Name as a Trademark

The second step to protecting your brand name is registering it as a trademark. To do this, you need to file an application with either the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or another country’s equivalent of the USPTO. You can register for federal trademark protection in the U.S., which will give you nationwide rights, or you can file for state-specific protection if desired by doing so individually in each state where you sell your product or service. In addition to keeping other companies from using similar names, registering as a trademark allows you to use certain symbols such as ™ and ® that notify others that they are dealing with someone who owns an exclusive right to use their brand name—these symbols may also help deter competitors from using similar names when they see them on products belonging to other companies because they know those brands have already been registered by someone else whose product they could potentially infringe upon unknowingly just by using common sense logic.

Step 3. Use TM on Your Brand Name

After you’ve decided on a brand name, it’s time to trademark it. To do this, you’ll need to use TM on your brand name.

This means that if someone else has already trademarked the same or similar phrase, you will not be able to use it without permission from that person. This is why it’s so important for businesses to make sure their trademarks are in order before using them in public; otherwise, they might be infringing on someone else’s trademark rights and could get into legal trouble as a result.

Step 4. Use SM on Your Brand Name

You should also use SM on your brand name, which stands for service mark. A service mark is a trademark used to identify a service or product that you offer. It’s important to use the SM because it’s different than a TM (trademark), and it helps distinguish services that may be similar or related. For example, if you are running two different restaurants with the same name (like “Arby’s”), then using only the TM will not work since they both offer the same type of food but under different names and logos. This can lead people to think they are one and the same instead of being able to tell them apart by their names alone.

Service marks do not protect words used solely as terms descriptive of goods or their characteristics—for example: `cotton fabric’. They also don’t protect generic words found within trademarks—for example: `zipper’.

Step 5. Monitor Your Copyrighted Brand Name

Monitor your brand name’s use. Make sure that you are using the correct symbols when it comes to trademarking your brand name. You also need to be on the lookout for competitors who may try to copy your product or service in order to steal some of its market shares. Additionally, keep an eye on how the USPTO database is being used and make sure that there are no other companies out there using a similar logo or design as yours but with a slightly different spelling or pronunciation such as TM instead of Tm (this could lead others who aren’t familiar with IP law into thinking that two trademarks belong together).

Takeaway

There are five steps to copyrighting your brand name, including registering it as a trademark and using TM and SM next to it.

• Register your brand name as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You can do this by filing an application online or by submitting paper forms.
• Use TM and SM next to your brand name on all products, marketing materials, and business documents.
• Monitor other companies’ use of similar names by checking their websites and social media pages regularly for any infringing use of your mark.

Conclusion

This article sums up all the required steps for copyrighting your brand name, including registering it as a trademark and using TM and SM next to it. There are also some important nuances that go along with each step—such as what happens if you don’t register right away—so make sure that before starting any project involving copyright law (which includes most businesses), you do some research first so that everything goes smoothly.