How do I find out if something is really copywritten or just using the sign?

Question

I have a name I want to use and I need to know if its copywritten for real, or just totes the sign like other small online ventures do.

Answer 1

If you're talking about a name of a product or a service, this is a trademark and NOT a copyright.

The ™ or SM symbol is to be used for marks that either have a pending trademark application OR for marks that are simply claiming the rights to the mark.

The ® symbol is to be used for marks that have a Federally registered trademark.

Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry. Of course, it's necessary to research the mark comprehensively prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party.

I listed some links where you can do some preliminary name checking. However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what's out there.

Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so I'd try them out first.

Comprehensive research consists of looking at marks that are similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning in the pending & registered Federal AND State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.

There are other sites that offer free searching capabilities in conjunction with their commercial services, so I'm not able to post those links due to the Yahoo! TOS. You'll also want to check domain names & yellow pages, so simply do a search for "free domain name search" and "national yellowpages" and the appropriate links will pop up.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

Legally the owner only has to put the mark on it. Nothing else. If the owner puts Copyright, then it is copyrighted.

If you register you get additional rights in court and you may be able to get more damages.

So I can copyright this reply by putting the notice on it.

For a mark, you can search the http://www.copyright.gov/records/