Ok, I did a search in GQ of trademarks and copyrights, and I didnt come up with anything specific to my question.
Let’s say I wanted to start a clothing line called “Hip-Hop Wear”.
There would be a logo on the shirts. Let’s say this logo is going to be a small picture of a futuristic, non-existent space-craft.
The name itself…would I need to register it as copyrighted?
i went to a copyright website, and it seemed to be more aimed towards things such as books, poems, writings, etc. It didnt really seemed to be geared towards 2 or 3 words that a clothing line would be named after.
The logo…would it be copyrighted, or trademarked?
Since the term “Hip-Hop” can be used in other terms, such as Hip-Hop music, or Hip-Hop dance, would this pose a problem to me?
Please note that my example name and example logo are just hypothetical.
This is a banding issue. What you want to do it obtain trademark protection for both the name Hip-Hop Wear and the spaceship logo (either separately or in combination, depending on how you use them). Copyright is a completely different form of Intellectual Property protection, designed to protect the expression of your ideas, and is not relevant to protecting your brand name/logo.
Getting down to the practical side of trademark protection, you need to obtain a trademark registration (either federal or state – there are 2 systems in the US and your IP lawyer will be able to explain the differences to you). Because the word “Hip-Hop” is fairly common, and because “wear” is quite descriptive of the type of goods that will be sold under the brand name (i.e., clothes), you may have some trouble getting a trademark registration for it for the simple reason that someone else may have secured a registration before you did for the same or similar mark.
Similarly, if someone already has a registration (or a pending application) for a mark similar to your spaceship logo, you may also have problems getting a registration for that.
If you want to learn more you should go to the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov/ which has a lot of useful information. Good luck!
The name itself…would I need to register it as copyrighted?
Register it with your state when you get your state business license. You can TM it by just putting a small TM under it. If you want to make it a registered TM, you need to register it with the Federal Goverment. Lawyers will charge you at least a grand. You can do it yourself through the US Gov website for free. It will take at least 6 months in either case. I think it costs a couple of hundred bucks in fees.
i went to a copyright website, and it seemed to be more aimed towards things such as books, poems, writings, etc. It didnt really seemed to be geared towards 2 or 3 words that a clothing line would be named after.
Copyright has to do with intellectual property like books and art. Copyright is not for names of companies or logos.
The logo…would it be copyrighted, or trademarked?
TM’d.
Since the term “Hip-Hop” can be used in other terms, such as Hip-Hop music, or Hip-Hop dance, would this pose a problem to me?
You can do a search of the exact name and see if someone else has it already. If your company is small, you can just TM it and no one should bother you. If you think your company will go national you better register TM it. That will prevent other people from using the same name.
Here is the official site: http://www.uspto.gov/
Sorry, when I meant register it throught the US Gov website for free, I meant doing it yourself for free as opposed to hiring someone to do it for you. You would still need to pay the fees.
Yes you will still need to pay the official fees even if you do it yourself. However, while doing it yourself may save some money for you in the short term, bear in mind that it may also cause you more headaches, including financial headaches, in the long term.
IMHO it’s worth paying the extra few grand to consult a professional.