Do I Need A Lawyer To Trademark My Band Name?

4 Comments

1. mailacco says:

   January 11, 2010 at 11:36 am

   There is no need to trademark the name of a ban but failing to do so may leave you vulnerable that if another band trademark the name then this may spell more then likely the end of your band using the name. You would not wish to get your band become very known only for some other band then to register the band name as a trademark and take the credit in the process, would you?
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   Soon after I trademarked “MAY JUSTICE ALWAYS PREVAIL®” the Attorney-General contacted me that I was prohibited to use the word “JUSTICE” because it could be perceived as the Department of Justice and failing to stop using it would make me liable to court proceedings in the Supreme Court. I responded that I had used it for over 20 years but now had it registered as a trademark and there was nothing he could do about it. Well nearly a decade later I haven’t heard back from him ever.
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   When you do a trademark of a name or sign it is best that you first use the Internet and enter in a search machine the name you like to use. After all you do not want to incur expenses to apply for a trademark that later might be disallowed due to being simular with another trademark, etc.
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   Make also sure that your trademark is not a word or wording that can be misunderstood in different languages.
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   Also try to make sure you do not end up with a trademark that is far too common and you may loose the value of having a trademark.
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   When I trademarked “INSPECTOR-RIKATI®” it was with a hyphen because I held this would stand out better.
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   Yes, I had at times that I discovered others to try to use my trademarks but then I would write them a correspondence making known that they are in breach of my trademark rights and could face legal consequences. This so far always was sufficient to stop them using them.
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   There was a law firm using “MAY JUSTICE ALWAYS PREVAIL®” and again I advised them that they were in conflict of my trademark rights and that was sufficient to stop them also.
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   As author of books in the INSPECTOR-RIKATI® series on constitutional and other legal issues I have had people wanting to copy my material but then I make clear that there are copyrights associated and also that it involves trademarks.
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   Before you register a trademark you could use TM instead of the ® mark as TM is understood for that you are seeking trademark registration while ® applies to existing trademarks.
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   Also, it is important to know if you are going to have international registered trademark or not. When you are going to have a name of a band that more then likely might later obtain international fame it might be prudent to consider if the trademark intended name is acceptable in other countries. After all finding that your locally registered trademark is not acceptable in some countries is not what you may wish to inflict upon yourself.
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2. INSPECTO says:

   January 11, 2010 at 11:47 am

   No you don’t need a lawyer for registration.
   You just need to follow their instructions, file the paperwork and pay the fees.
   U.S. Patent and Trademark Officehttp://www.uspto.gov/
3. Artman says:

   January 11, 2010 at 12:44 pm

   No. But it would certainly help. They know how to get you extra protection.
   You should also talk to someone about copyrighting your songs.
4. BigD says:

   January 11, 2010 at 1:32 pm

   No, you just need the proper paperwork.

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