How to Copyright or Trademark a Phrase or Slogan

The golden arches of McDonald's, or Visa's "It's everywhere you want to be" are well known phrases and symbols for businesses whereas Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" is a novel. All are protected by the United States Government, though they are not protected by the same branch of the government.

Symbols, phrases and names can be trademarked through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. There are two types of trademarks. One is a design style; the other is standard character format. A design style is like the golden arches. The symbol is used to help brand the business and to provide familiarity for consumers. The golden arches cannot be used by anyone other than McDonalds, especially in the food service industry. However, you can take the familiar shape of the golden arches and paint them a different color, say blue, and the symbol no longer represent McDonald's and can be trademarked for a different company.

The other type of trademark is the standard character format. This type would be used to trademark a catch phrase or slogan. The trademark is based on the words themselves, not the typestyle or color or font size. Visa's "It's everywhere you want to be" is an example of a standard character format.

Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" cannot be trademarked. It is protected by copyright laws. The United States Library of Congress oversees the Copyright Office. Copyright law does not permit phrases or slogans to be protected. Names and ideas cannot be protected either. In order for a copyright to be issued, the author must meet minimal creative standards. For example, if you authored a recipe. You could copyright the instructions for the recipe, but not the ingredient list. Or say you wrote an article outlining a new method of manufacturing a lamp. You can copyright the article and stop people from reusing your written words, but you cannot stop people from using the information in the article to manufacture a lamp.

A good trademark helps to build customer recognition and loyalty. Trademarks can be issued on a state, federal or international level. Each state has a trademark office where you can apply for a trademark. The US Patent and Trademark Office oversee trademarks on the national and international level.

To register your slogan or phrase as a trademark, you will start by doing research to be sure no one currently has it registered and is using it. Then decide on the type of trademark you want, whether standard character format or design. NOTE: You cannot use both in your application. It must be one or the other.

You will also have to identify the goods and/or services you will provide with your trademark. One thing you cannot do is register a trademark to manufacture lamps, and then use the same trademark to sell food. You would need a different trademark for the food business.

Fill out the application for trademark and send in your fee. Fees are based upon whether you are registering for a national or international trademark. The form is online and you will be able to track your application's progress.

Sit back and wait. It will take a minimum of three months for the US Trademark Office to respond to your initial application and an additional three months before your trademark will be published and protected. It is a complicated process where other businesses will be able to see your proposed trademark to be sure it does not conflict with their own.

Registering a trademark is optional for most businesses. If you do want to protect your interests for your customers' benefit and for marketing, be sure to start early.