Asked by: Michelle Stracener

Why you shouldn’t use a pen name?

Pen names can complicate social gatherings, especially if you forget and introduce yourself to someone under your given name, or fail to respond when someone calls you by your pen name. Also, conferences and signings may become challenging if you’re juggling two names.

Can you use someone else’s name as a pen name?

Yes, authors can self-publish using their pen name or nom de plume. If you’re self-publishing a book, you can definitely use a pseudonym when writing and publishing your book. In fact, many indie authors use a pseudonym or nom de plume when they publish books in several different genres.

Is it a good idea to use your name as a domain name?

If your purpose is purely personal branding and does not intend to sell your website, then using your own name is fine. If your goal is to build a business and you might consider selling it in the future, using a creative name is the best approach.

Can I use a pen name on my website?

If you’re going to use a pseudonym online, you’ll need an appropriate domain name to set up a website. But who is going to buy that domain? If you buy it with your legal name, then your ownership of the pseudonym will become searchable in website registries — and thus available to the public.

Can you copyright a pen name?

Under U.S. law you can’t copyright a name, real or fictitious. Copyrights protect authorship, such as short stories, poems, or novels. You can register a manuscript under a pen name at the copyright office (www.copyright.gov). You’ll have to provide some information, including your real address.

Should I use a pen name or my real name?

To use or not use a pen name or pseudonym is a personal choice. There’s not really a right or wrong answer on this—unless you do share a name with a well-known author and/or celebrity. Just remember: If you do use one, be ready to take on that new persona (even if it’s very similar to your actual identity).

Should I trademark my pen name?

Having your pen name trademarked doesn’t mean other people can’t use it at all. There may be people whose legal given name is your pen name, and they aren’t infringing your trademark. However, trademark registration does mean you can prevent someone else from using the same name as their pen name.

Why did JK Rowling use a pen name?

Why the name Robert Galbraith? I chose Robert because it’s one of my favourite men’s names, because Robert F Kennedy is my hero and because, mercifully, I hadn’t used it for any of the characters in the Potter series or The Casual Vacancy.

Can I use a pen name for my business?

Having a business with a fictitious name is definitely legal, provided that you have filed the proper documentation (such as registering your business, incorporating, or filing a “doing business as” statement), and carried out the proper trademark searches.

Do bloggers use pen names?

The answer is yes, you absolutely can! Authors have successfully used pen names for generations, and blogging is no different. In fact, Google has publicly stated that they’re OK with you blogging under a pseudonym.

How do you get paid under a pen name?

If you want to know how to get paid under a pen name, that is a bit more complicated. Necessarily it will require you to create a legal entity under the pen name. There are a few different options to consider, like a DBA (Doing Business As) registration. Also, you may consider getting a Certificate of an Assumed Name.

How do you trademark a pseudonym?

You can use your trademark on all of your work legally. Go to the website for the United States Patent and Trademark Office and use the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) to check that the words or name you want to trademark are available. The system will let you know if your pen name is already being used.

Can an author trademark their name?

Yes an authors name can be used as a trademark if the name is used on goods or services. For example if someone writes textbooks and provides workbooks and other products that go with the book, then the author could trademark the name. More information would be required before proceeding.

How do I copyright a name?

Registering a trademark for a company name is pretty straightforward. Many businesses can file an application online in less than 90 minutes, without a lawyer’s help. The simplest way to register is on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Web site, www.uspto.gov.

What is the cheapest way to trademark?

The basic cost to trademark a business name ranges from $225 to $600 per trademark class. This is the cost to submit your trademark application to the USPTO. The easiest and least expensive way to register your trademark is online, through the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).

Do I trademark or copyright a name?

A trademark typically protects brand names and logos used on goods and services. A patent protects an invention. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work. For example, if you invent a new kind of vacuum cleaner, you would apply for a patent to protect the invention itself.

How much does it cost to copyright a name and logo?

Trademark Cost

The average cost to trademark a name or logo is around $275 when filing yourself, or between $500 and $2,000 when filing through a service or trademark attorney. The cost of a trademark is based on the number of classes your goods or services fall under, as well as the methods used when filing.

How can I trademark my logo for free?

Can you trademark your logo for free? You can not register a trademark for free. However, what you can do is establish something known as a “common law trademark” for free. You can do this by simply opening for business.

Should I get my logo trademarked?

Anyone whose logo identifies a business or profession should seriously consider trademark protection. Once you establish your trademark, the legal mark lasts forever. Just make sure to keep up with registration renewals at the five and ten year marks.

What’s the difference between copyright and trademark?

Copyright protects original work, whereas a trademark protects items that distinguish or identify a particular business from another. Copyright is generated automatically upon the creation of original work, whereas a trademark is established through common use of a mark in the course of business.

Can something be both copyrighted and trademarked?

Both are legal protections for intellectual property, but not of the same kind. Intellectual property that can be trademarked cannot be copyrighted. Intellectual property that can be copyrighted cannot be trademarked. For example, a company can trademark its name and logo and copyright its videos and books.

Can you register a work for both trademark and copyright?

Only once it is confirmed and certified by the trademark registrar that there are no same or similar trademarks on record, the artistic work copyright could be filed for registration. Similarly, a trademark is not registrable if it is in conflict with a copyrighted work.

Is Mickey Mouse a trademark or copyright?

The copyright that is set to expire is the depiction of Mickey Mouse in his original iteration of the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie. Unless the copyright on the character is extended, that version will enter the public domain in January 2024. However, Disney still holds copyrights on other versions of Mickey Mouse.

Can I draw Disney characters and sell them?

No you cannot paint, offer for sale, sell, or otherwise tinker with a Disney character, at least it is illegal without an express license from the Walt Disney company.

Can Disney trademark Mickey Mouse?

For the record: 12:12 p.m. May 12, 2022An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Disney’s trademark protection on Mickey Mouse as a trademark patent. Disney holds trademark rights to the Mickey Mouse character, not patents.