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). Learn more about the qualifications for trademarking a personal name and the best types of names to trademark.
What Is a Trademark?
A trademark is a piece of intellectual property that allows you to set it apart from other goods or services. You can trademark a word, phrase, symbol, design, or any combination of these features. The trademark protects your brand from theft, counterfeiting, or fraud. Before you attempt to trademark your name, research your name using the Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Search System (also known as “TESS”) to make sure no one else is already using it.
Registering vs Trademarking Your Name
If your personal name is the same as your business name you can register it in your state. Registering a business name is different from trademarking that name. You can register a business name in a state, or a business name is automatically registered when a business entity is registered as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC), for example. Registering a business name in a state only registers the name in that state, to keep others in the state from using it. A Trademark is a federal government registration, protecting your brand in the U.S. through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. To make sure someone else doesn’t use your name—or the name of your business—you must trademark that name. You can also register a trademark internationally with the World Intellectual Property Organization. Many trademarks come with logos or images that help to brand the name, distinguish it from other similar names, and give it more visual appeal.
Qualifications for Trademarking Your Name
People trademark their names all the time, including actors, authors, sports figures, and other celebrities, alive or dead. To be trademarked, your name must meet two criteria:
It must be unique and not used by anyone elseIt must have a business use
Only unique names can be trademarked. For example, Bruce Springsteen’s name is registered, as is Taylor Swift’s name. But Michael Jordan’s trademark is “Michael Jordan 23.” Michael Jordan is a common name so Michael Jordan the basketball player couldn’t trademark his name. He chose instead to add his famous player number—“23”—to make it unique. If you want to trademark your personal name, you must find a business use for it, and that business use must fit into one or more of the many specific categories of products and services in the trademark system. For example, “Michael Jordan 23” is used in several different categories, including hats, shorts, t-shirts, and jackets. Listing your trademarked name in one category doesn’t prevent someone claiming it as a trademark in another category. You must register the name in all categories where it is or might be used.
The Best Names for Trademarks
The strongest names for a trademark are “fanciful” or “arbitrary.” Fanciful names are invented words, like “Exxon.” Arbitrary names are not made up but are not logically connected to the products or services sold. For example, the name “John Smith” is listed as a trademark with a logo in stylized form. Without the logo the name could not be trademarked, because many people have the name “John Smith.” It’s used to sell different kinds of drinking cups. “Apple” is another example of an arbitrary name.
Why Trademark Your Personal Name
Trademarking your name can provide you with added protection against cybersquatters, people who pick up internet domain names to confuse people and get money. Of course, the best reason to trademark your name is to prevent others from using it. For example, the actor Morgan Freeman trademarked his name to prevent it from being used by a company to market its products. Freeman’s trademark is listed in the category “Entertainment services, namely, live, televised, and movie appearances by a professional entertainer.”
Protecting Your Trademarked Name
After you have trademarked your name, you must protect it or risk losing your trademark. If you want to sue someone for using your name, you must show “confusion in the public.” That is, you can’t just say “someone is using my name,” but you must show that there is confusion, and then that the confusion is hurting you financially. Here’s a theoretical example: A company called “McDonald and Sons Burgers” sets up in a little town and McDonald’s (the international food chain) is concerned. The international McDonald’s would have to show that people are confusing the two restaurants and that the confusion has damaged the big McDonald’s business.
