Making it yours Now that you've decided on your band name and conducted some informal research on its availability, you can start calling it your own. The best way to establish ownership of a band name is to use it. You can trademark a band logo, so consider creating a unique one or having it designed for you (even a nicely executed typographic rendition of your band name can work well). Think of it as establishing a strong brand identity. When someone says "Coca-Cola," you quickly conjure up the logo in your mind as it appears on the product. When you see Nike's swoosh, you know it's a Nike product. Indeed, Nike rarely even uses the company name in advertising anymore-the logo alone assures recognition.
The basis of trademark law is pretty simple: a trademarked name identifies the source of a particular product or service. Infringement on a trademark occurs when someone in a similar field uses the same name, or knowingly uses a similar name in an attempt to create confusion in the marketplace as to the source of the goods or services. For example, if you were to name your band Trident, the makers of Trident chewing gum couldn't claim trademark infringement, because you are not selling gum or candy or any similar food product. No one will confuse a band with a brand of chewing gum (at least we hope not). But if a company introduced a line of sugar-free gum called Tridentt, it would likely get sued for trademark infringement because consumers could easily confuse the two products.
I should pause here to mention that legally you don't need to trademark your band name to use it-or even to defend it, for that matter. If you have a name you've been using for a long time, and your band has strong name recognition regionally or even nationally, you can conceivably prohibit another band from using that name. Unfortunately, it can take quite a bit of legal legwork to make your case, so you're better off registering the name as soon as possible.
Because trademarks are used to identify the source of goods or services, they are issued to businesses-and that means you'll have to establish your band as a business first. This can be as simple as filing a "fictitious business name statement" (also called a DBA, for "doing business as"). To do this, you need to file the proper forms with the county where your band is based, and because each state has its own procedures, you should contact your county clerk's office for information on how to file. Once you have established your band as a business, you can proceed with getting a federal trademark.
ενα πολυ ωραιο αρθρο που βρήκα στο ιντερνετ..
οντως μπορεις να κατοχυρώσεις και το όνομα, και το λογκο.. Σπύρο αυτο που ειπες για το Cars εξηγει πιο πανω πως μπορει να γινει..
