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by: Shelly Harris / Entertainment Attorney
QUESTION:
My band is ready to get a trademark for our name, but, when I go to the www.uspto.gov website, I am confused as to which online form to use, and what we are supposed to write as our principal business using the service. Also, who should we put at the "owner" of the mark? All of our names, or the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) we recently formed? ANSWER: Since you have already been using the name in public, you will want to use the form for a trademark/servicemark that has already been in use (obviously) rather than the one for future intent to use. At the time you fill it out, you will have to decide if you also want the logo you are using trademarked as well. You can do both at one shot, for one fee (currently $335), but if you later decide to change your actual logo, you would have to make a new filing (with new fee) to protect the newer version. You would most likely write "live musical and recording group" as the description of your services (this is, in fact, a "service mark" rather than a trademark), but, if you also intend to sell merchandise with the band name and logo, and you want to better protect your exclusive right to use the name and logo on the merchandise, then you would have to file another separate trademark application for the goods and merchandise. For one real life example of this, do a trademark search on the site printing in the band name "Iron Maiden." Your search will show two separate trademarks issued to that band coinciding with the dates of doing their first "business" in American. (Look under other well-known band names if you want to get a clearer picture on that issue.) As far as which name(s) to use on the application, that is an issue that needs to be thought out carefully, especially where bands are concerned, since members can come and go, and yet still be listed as an "owner" of the band servicemark/trademark. For that reason, it is generally better to use your band's business entity as the owner, while also making sure that your partnership agreement or other legal documents (which establish your band as a business) also delineate who gets what percentage of interest in the trademark and other assets, and how such interest will be handled when any band member or partner leaves the band/business. There are potential complicated legal and financial ramifications on all these issues, so, as always, I also advise you to consult an attorney before proceeding any further. Write to Shelly Harris at: shellyharrislaw@aol.com | |||
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