Many artists wonder whether they should register their band names or artist names as trademarks with the USPTO. There are several considerations that make trademark registrations a good idea. Some are codified in the federal trademark statute, which is known as the Lanham Act. For example, under the Lanham Act, when you apply to register your trademark, you lock in your “priority” over anyone who might later try to use the same mark, or one that is “confusingly similar” to it, on a nationwide basis. A band that has never played outside of California, therefore, would have the ability to enforce its mark against a junior user in Arkansas thanks to its trademark application. Additionally, the Lanham Act provides that owners of registered trademarks are entitled to a presumption of the validity of their rights if they ever have to go to court to address an infringement, which can also be very consequential.

Perhaps the most important benefit to trademark registration doesn’t come from the Lanham Act, however. It’s the ability to enforce your trademark in private correspondence (e.g. takedown notices) with services like Spotify. That is, social media services and streaming platforms like Spotify often refuse to cooperate with trademark complaints unless the complaining user has a trademark registration. This practice can be frustrating to lawyers since it is not really grounded in the Lanham Act or other authorities (notably, you have some rights in your mark even without registering it), but streaming platforms don’t seem to care.

If you’re afraid someone else might use your same name, or one that’s very close to it, on Spotify or other platforms and thereby sew confusion among your fans and maybe even divert your royalties, you shouldn’t hesitate to register your mark.