29 Apr Bloggers! Have You Trademarked Your Blog’s Name?

If you are creating original content on the internet, you have likely considered the value of your intellectual property. If you are a blogger, you know that your words are your property, and you retain the exclusive rights to the articles you create. If you’ve been following along on this blog, you know that the content you write in your blog posts falls squarely in the realm of copyright protection. That’s because works of original authorship (like blog posts and photos posted on blogs) are protectable through copyright. However, you may not have considered whether there are aspects of your blog that need trademark protection, like the name of your blog itself.

How Do I Know if I Need to Trademark My Blog’s Name?

Not every blog needs to trademark its name. But, there are some circumstances in which it will be incredibly important that you trademark your blog name — and you may not know which category your blog falls into until it’s too late. So, what do you do? Let’s walk through a calculation to help you determine whether you should trademark your blog title.

Where Does Your Blog Fall?

More likely than not, your blog falls somewhere in between these two lists. Of course, there isn’t a hard and fast rule that you can follow to determine whether your blog title meets the criteria for trademark protection. However, it is important to take a look at your blog’s relationship between any money-making activities you conduct or intend to conduct in the future. If your blog drives traffic to a site where you sell goods or services, it’s very likely that you should trademark its name. If you have a large following for the unique content you post on your blog, that’s also a signal that you might want to protect the title.

The best way to determine whether you need trademark protection (and to get help navigating the trademark registration application process) is to consult with an experienced trademark attorney. At The Brand Protected®, we specialize in helping online businesses protect their brand, intellectual property, and business assets. Click here to sign up for an exploratory call with Lourdes, our principal attorney. She can help talk you through your options and determine whether you need to take further action to protect your business and your blog.