How much does it cost to patent a product or a name?

Question

I am thinking about patent a nickname of mine so other people cannot use it. How much does it cost to do so?

Answer 1

You can't patent a name. If it's a business name you might be able to copyright it, but if it's a personal name that other's already use, you can't do that either.

Answer 2

There are over 100,000 people who make their living exclusively on E-Bay. You do not patent your name, you register your name either at the city level (Call city hall) or better at the State level or if you want to go national at the Federal level. Get the name for your business and then open a bank account in that name. The bank will give you all of the forms needed. This is a small protection for your company name. Use the "R" symbol in a circle that is on your Word processor at the end of your name for all of your letters, promotions and business cards. This is not to be confused with the "C" in a circle which is a way of copyrighting your designs. If you have a really good design you can add a copyright symbol but don't expect it to prevent people stealing your design. They simply will if they feel like it.