Learn more about how to copyright a name1 min read

Want to Copyright a Name?

Here are some things to know about copyright law.

Names, titles, slogans or short phrases are not protected under copyright law. To understand why this is, one must first learn a little more about copyright law itself.

To obtain a valid copyright you will need to satisfy three elements that the U.S. government has set out.

The first is that you need to have an individually created work that has some minimal degree of originality.

The second is that the work must be one of the eight “works of authorship” that the United States Copyright Office has defined.

Lastly, the work must be fixed, meaning the work should be written, recorded or otherwise embedded in some physical form. Anyone should be able to reproduce the work of art you create.

A name on the other hand, is not something that the United States Copyright Office has categorized as a work of authorship. Copyright law does not protect ideas, concepts, systems or methods of doing something. However, in many cases a name will be protected as a trademark.

Additionally, copyright protection may be appropriate for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship. In some circumstances, an artistic logo may even be covered by both copyright and trademark protection.

Need help with obtaining a copyright?