# Copywriting product name **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203 "2010-03-03T23:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/1 "2010-03-03T23:46:11Z")
I have invented a product with a unique name that is not taken up on [godaddy.com](http://godaddy.com) or any other domain names. My question is will that be considered a legally binding copy write or not, or do I need to register the name with the Library of Congress or some such institution? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/2 "2010-03-03T23:55:04Z")
No, product and domain names cannot be copyrighted. You may, however, be able to register a trademark or service mark for a name associated with a particular product or service. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/3 "2010-03-04T00:48:09Z")
**Psychonaut** is absolutely correct regarding trademarks (this being a product, you need a trademark rather than a service mark). You’ll need to do a trademark search first to make sure nobody else has done it. There are plenty of attorneys out there that will do the search and paperwork if you don’t want to do it yourself. If you want to use the product name as your company name, you will also want to register it with the state so that nobody else grabs it. Different people/companies can hold the same trademark in different industries. For example, you could trademark Plasmagoricana as a product for cleaning aquariums, and that wouldn’t stop someone else from creating Plasmagoricana breakfast cereal, or Toyota from naming their next car the Plasmagoricana. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/4 "2010-03-04T01:33:29Z")
And you can do a search for registered trademarks [here](http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/5 "2010-03-04T02:58:30Z")
I have to make this correction. The word is copyright, as in you get the right to control who can make a copy of your work. Copywriting is the process of correcting errors in text or copy. I was copywriting your OP when I changed copywrite to copyright. And I agree with everybody when they say that proper names, short phrases, and the like cannot be copyrighted. They may be eligible for trademark or service mark protection. Unfortunately, that’s a much more expensive proposition and you’ll probably want a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/6 "2010-03-04T03:51:40Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Copywriting is the process of correcting errors in text or copy. I was copywriting your OP when I changed copywrite to copyright. Interesting. This **copyeditor** has always understood **copywriting** to be the process of writing advertising or publicity copy, and MW11 agrees with me. I’d consider your definition of “copywriting” to actually be copyediting. Brain fart, or are there actually circles where this definition of “copywriting” is used? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/7 "2010-03-04T08:06:24Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Interesting. This **copyeditor** has always understood **copywriting** to be the process of writing advertising or publicity copy, and MW11 agrees with me. I’d consider your definition of “copywriting” to actually be copyediting. > > Brain fart, or are there actually circles where this definition of “copywriting” is used? Agree with you Scarlett. A copywriter writes **copy** for a marketing piece. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/8 "2010-03-04T14:34:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Copywriting is the process of correcting errors in text or copy. I was copywriting your OP when I changed copywrite to copyright. Actually, that’s proofreading. Just to cut this short, the copywriting _process_ can include the original concepting, proofreading, copy editing, revisions and approvals as well as the actual writing. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/9 "2010-03-04T15:01:41Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Actually, that’s proofreading. It can be proofreading, though that’s usually just a mechanical function of catching errors. What I meant to say was copyediting, which can mean changing the text (or challenging the writer with questons) as well as merely correcting errors. :smack: Oh, Gaudare, how you mock me. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/10 "2010-03-04T15:25:50Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And I agree with everybody when they say that proper names, short phrases, and the like cannot be copyrighted. They may be eligible for trademark or service mark protection. Unfortunately, that’s a much more expensive proposition and you’ll probably want a lawyer. A question I’ve always been curious about, if I write a novel, for example, could I use the phrase, “he did for bullshit what Stonehenge did for rocks”? This is a phrase that Cecil once wrote in his columns. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/11 "2010-03-04T16:20:49Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > A question I’ve always been curious about, if I write a novel, for example, could I use the phrase, “he did for bullshit what Stonehenge did for rocks”? This is a phrase that Cecil once wrote in his columns. Names, titles and short phrases are not subject to copyright protection. Here’s a good website frm the US Federal Govt. [Copyright faqs](http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html) ---
**Author:** ![born\_too\_late](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@born\_too\_late](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/born_too_late)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/12 "2010-03-04T17:27:33Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It can be proofreading, though that’s usually just a mechanical function of catching errors. > > What I meant to say was copyediting, which can mean changing the text (or challenging the writer with questons) as well as merely correcting errors. :smack: > > Oh, Gaudare, how you mock me. Isn’t it ‘Gaudere’? 😃 Tangentially - [Muphry’s\_law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry's_law) ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/13 "2010-03-04T17:40:08Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Names, titles and short phrases are not subject to copyright protection. > > Here’s a good website frm the US Federal Govt. [Copyright faqs](http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html) Thanks, a surprisingly fun read from the government! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/14 "2010-03-04T23:14:29Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > A question I’ve always been curious about, if I write a novel, for example, could I use the phrase, “he did for bullshit what Stonehenge did for rocks”? This is a phrase that Cecil once wrote in his columns. IANAL but I think that falls more into the category of plagiarism than copyright infringement (unless you credit it appropriately with something like “As the Perfect Master himself, Cecil Adams, once said…”) Plagiarism isn’t infringement _per se_ (although it can be) but if you’re obnoxious about it, Unca Cecil could certainly sic his legal minions on you to demand redress for the theft of his highly distinctive intellectual property. That’s a civil action, though, not a criminal one. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copywriting-product-name/531203/15 "2010-03-05T00:30:05Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Ibut if you’re obnoxious about it, Unca Cecil could certainly sic his legal minions on you to demand redress for the theft of his highly distinctive intellectual property. Under what legal theory? As has been stated before, single words, names, titles, slogans, and short phrases are not subject to copyright protection.