Trademarking - The Other Intellectual Property Law You Need to Know
Artists tend to focus on copyright as the be-all and end-all for the protection of their work and careers. While copyright is the most essential thing to know in-depth, there is something that is quite important that falls under the umbrella of intellectual property law: trademarking.
You can spend years building up a brand and reputation to support your name or your band’s name. If you’ve done that, it really doesn’t matter how many songs you write or how good you are - the name is the thing that sells, that piques interest in the ears of potential customers and potential investors, and therefore protecting that name is paramount to protecting your career. You do this by trademarking.
If you don’t trademark it yourself, you may end up with the same problem Prince had - and for many artists, it has meant the end of a career.
You can find out more on trademarking from the WIPO.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan - but, Prince’s career is over? If only mine could be so over that I might play the Superbowl soon. It’s clear that there is some legal issues I am unaware of … maybe these could be explained in an extended article? Anyways, just a thought.
October 4th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Sorry, I could have been clearer - Prince did have a trademark problem, but used entrepreneurial ingenuity to overcome the potential career-killer. Most artists, however, just disappear. At some stage in the future, I will write a more extended article on trademark law. The most important thing to familiarize yourself with is copyright, and then trademark. Thanks for commenting, Canucklehead!