Copyright Rules for an Organization's Name

Names are not protected by copyright, but are protected under trademark and service mark law. An organization does not need to register in order to claim exclusive use of a trademark or service mark, but registration confers expanded protection of the organization's name.

Trademark

• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office defines trademarks as "any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. "

Service Mark

• Service marks are less common than trademarks, and identify a service as opposed to a physical product or brand. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office defines service marks as "any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce, to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from services provided by others, and to indicate the source of the services."

Copyright

• On the other hand, copyright protects the expression of ideas, specifically literary, musical, visual, architectural, cinematographic and dramatic works. Copyright gives the holder the exclusive right to use (construed broadly) the work for the duration of the author's life plus 50 to 70 years depending on the type of work. Trademarks, on the other hand, are valid as long as the holder submits a renewal application and fee every 10 years.

Use

• According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a name does not have to be registered with the office as a trademarks and service mark in order for an organization to claim exclusive use. Organizations can use the ubiquitous "TM" or "SM" symbols without completing any formal procedure (the name must be registered before the organization can use the registration symbol of an R inside a circle).

Registration

• Registering an organization's name as a trademark or service mark gives the organization ownership of the name. Registration includes national notification that the name has been registered, gives the organization a legal foundation from which to prosecute anyone using the name to promote a different organization or service and can be used to obtain registration in other countries.