Thinking about ordering stickers, postcards, and tee shirts emblazoned with your band name? You may want to invest some of that cash in a trademark registration search. Trademark infringement is a civil offense and can be costly.

Here are a few tips on how to make sure your band name is not considered “unregisterable” by the United States Trademark and Patent Office.

1. Do not use surnames. Your last name is not registerable - unless you are already famous.
2. Do not use geographically descriptive names.
3. Blatantly offensive or scandalous names will be rejected.
4. Do not use names that suggest an erroneous connection to a known person or institution.
5. Your band name must not be confusingly similar to another more famous band.

On a budget? There are ways to minimally protect yourself for free.

• There are many sites that will run a search for a fee, but the United States Patent and Trademark office offers a free basic search and nameprotect.com will perform a free general trademark name search.
• You can send for a copy of the Trademark Registry at: National Press Building, Suite 1297, Washington, DC 20045. Your local library may have the registry in their reference section so there’s no excuse not to start your search.
• Once you’ve established as best you can that your band name is unique, use it publicly. Keep detailed records to prove how long you’ve been identified by it.
• When making tee shirts, it is advised to have your name on the neck label as well as the front and back of the shirt.
  

The USPTO registration filing fee currently is $295 and it takes about a year after filing an application for the trademark to be registered.

• Class 41 covers education and entertainment trademarks and is the most important registration for a band.
• Class 9 covers “scientific apparatus” which includes records and tapes
• Class 25 covers clothing (i.e. tee shirts.)

For expert advice search our database for attorneys that specialize in trademark laws.