MUSIC LABEL AND TRADEMARK PROTECTION- KNOW IT ALL!

SIGNIFICANCE OF TRADEMARK PROTECTION FOR YOUR MUSIC BRAND

If you wish to be distinguished from all the market players or those trying to look alike, you need to have a name or an identity. The significance of having trademark protection is that it protects your identity. For musicians, music labels and bands who perform or release their musical work, a trademark is essential to ensure that their hard work and efforts are not being exploited.

A trademark not only protects your name but your goodwill as well. The name of your brand, label, band, part of lyrics that recognize the name, the logo of your brand, the typical trade name written on your merchandise etc., all can be trademarked.

A group of musicians producing or creating quality content is known by its name, the tradename that they carry. If your name has not been trademarked, it actually means that incase someone someday decides to use your name for his own purposes (which may be a music brand as well) you have no legal authority to refrain him from doing so. It is painful to even think of such a situation for those who create music or earn their livelihood out of beautiful creations.

THE SOLUTION- ACQUIRE A TRADEMARK

A simple act of hiring an attorney and getting you brand name registered as a trademark may save you from many potential legal complications. Once your trademark is registered, the name is required to be used with symbol “®”.

A registered trademark will not only secure your sense of belongingness to what is actually yours (YOUR OWN LABEL) but will also grant the much-needed protection from infringement caused by bogus social media handles and websites or other entities claiming to be you. Don’t let your admirers be fooled by people impersonating you or pretending to be your label. Even if you are a music channel on YouTube and you create your own musical content, selecting a trademark and getting it registered may give you the required shielding.

THE PROCEDURE

The procedure begins from the very nascent stage of choosing a trademark. What if I tell you that the name that you chose for your music band and used for years is non-registerable? To prevent such shocks, it is important to be mindful of conducting an extensive search before choosing a trademark. The mark sought to be registered must not be similar to other registered marks, it should be distinctive and must not be suggestive or descriptive etc. In the USA, the courts have given various decisions on trademarks which serve as a good guidance for those looking forward to getting a trademark registered.

Thereafter, an application in the proper class of trademark is required to be filed either with the relevant State department or the federal authority, U.S.P.T.O. An application may be filed for marks which are already in use by musicians or for such marks which they intend to use in future. It can be filed by a person individually or jointly with other persons while naming each of the joint applicants.

SEEK GUIDANCE FROM EXPERTS

Hiring or engaging a professional is a good idea in order to deal with the filing procedure and also in order to ensure that the trademark you are spending energy on is actually acceptable or not. The trademark search analysis report is prepared after an analysis of the existing live and dead trademarks, to know more on this read on the importance of search in trademarking. At Prodigy Legal LLP, you get a team of experts to assist you with the procedure of filing and acquiring your trademark with minimum efforts from your side.

About the Author

The author of this article, Isha Kapoor, a young lawyer with a passion for IPR and international trademark disputes.