From the course: Music Law: Managing a Band's Business

Unlock the full course today

Join today to access over 22,600 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.

Protecting your band name

Protecting your band name

From the course: Music Law: Managing a Band's Business

Start my 1-month free trial

Protecting your band name

“

- Your band name is protected under trademark law, an altogether different type of law from copyright laws that protect your songs and recordings. A trademark is a word, phrase, or symbol used in commerce to identify your band. In very broad terms, the first user of a band name can stop another band from using their trademark if it's likely that fans would be confused. It doesn't matter who was the first to dream up a band name, what matters is which band is the first to use it in commerce, that is on posters and newspaper advertisements, online or on recordings. As soon as you publicly use it, and assuming no one else has previously and continuously used it for music purposes, it is your trademark. If a different band already has the same name that you want to use, don't be tempted to get around trademark law by changing the name slightly. Names that sound alike or have the same meaning, even if they're spelled differently, or are in a different language, are often likely to cause…

Contents