Trademarks for a podcast, channel or creator brand

What a show is to the USPTO

To the USPTO an ongoing show is a service you provide to an audience, and that is Class 41. The accepted wording names the format and the subject: 'entertainment services, namely, an ongoing podcast in the field of personal finance'; 'providing an ongoing series of videos in the field of home cooking'. The subject matters because it is what the registration is compared against later.

Downloadable episodes, recordings and e-books are goods in Class 9, and printed books are Class 16. Most shows start with Class 41 alone, at the USPTO fee of $350, and add the others when the products exist. Trademark classes explained has the whole list.

The title of a single work versus a series

The refusal specific to creative work is this: the title of a single creative work is not a trademark. A book title, an album title or the name of one episode names the work itself, not its source, and the USPTO refuses it on both registers. The name of a series is different: when each new installment arrives under the same name, the name tells the audience it comes from the same source, which is what a trademark does.

For a show this cuts in your favor, with a condition. A podcast, a channel or a newsletter is an ongoing service in Class 41, so the refusal is not aimed at it; what the examining attorney wants to see is that it really is ongoing. One pilot episode and a trailer invite the question; a show page with several episodes answers it.

For the downloadable episodes in Class 9 the goods themselves are creative works, so the series rule applies with full force: the record has to show the name on at least two different works. File Class 9 once there are episodes to point to, or file it on intent to use and prove the series later. Spin-offs follow the same logic: a book of the show is a single work until there are two, while a live tour under the show's name is a Class 41 service from the first date.

The show name versus your own name

Many shows are named after the host, and two rules follow. The first is consent. Under Section 2(c) of the Trademark Act, a mark that includes the name of a particular living individual cannot register without that person's written consent. If you are the applicant, you give it in the application; if your company applies, it files your consent; two hosts in the name, two consents.

The second is the surname refusal. Under Section 2(e)(4), a mark that is primarily merely a surname is refused on the Principal Register until it acquires distinctiveness, and a generic word does not help: a surname followed by Show, Podcast or Report is still primarily a surname to the USPTO. A full name, first and last, is generally not treated as a surname at all. Can you trademark your own name? goes through both rules.

A performer's name on recordings has its own wrinkle: the USPTO registers it for the recordings only with evidence that the name identifies a series and that the performer controls its quality; as the name of an ongoing show or of live performances, it is a service mark. The practical choice is to register the show's name, because the show is what the audience follows and what survives a new co-host or a sale, and to register your own name separately when you are the brand across several shows.

Specimens for a show

A specimen for Class 41 has to show the name used in offering the show, with the show evident. The natural candidates:

• The show's page on your own website, with the name, a description and a list of episodes.
• The show's page in a podcast directory or on a video platform, where the name appears as the title of the show above the episodes, not only as the account name.
• A social page that advertises the show under its name and makes clear what it is.
• For a newsletter, the sign-up page describing it, or an issue carrying the name in its header.

For the downloadable episodes in Class 9, the specimen is the page where the episodes are downloaded, showing the title with a download button and more than one episode beneath it. Since 2020 every web capture must show the URL and the access or print date.

What fails: the cover artwork on its own, a logo file, a trailer page with no episodes, a page on which the name appears only as a handle, and a mock-up of a show page that has not gone live. If the launch is ahead, file on intent to use and send the show page once the episodes are up.

Merch, memberships and the classes that follow

Merch is where creator brands meet the ornamental refusal. The show's name printed large across a t-shirt reads as the shirt's message, not as a clothing brand, and the USPTO refuses it as merely ornamental. Creators have a way through: because the name is registered, or in use, as the mark of a show, the shirt points to that secondary source. Put the name on a neck label or a hang tag as well, and file Class 25 when the merch is real. Trademarks for a clothing brand covers the refusal.

Paid memberships and subscriber tiers are usually still Class 41 when what members receive is more of the show. Courses are Class 41; books are Class 16 in print and Class 9 as downloads; live events are Class 41. Each class is a fee and a specimen, so add them as they launch.

The episodes, the scripts and the artwork are protected by copyright from the moment they are recorded; the format and the idea of the show are protected by nothing; the name is a trademark. Trademark versus copyright versus patent sets out which is which.

Before you file

1. Screen the name in Class 41, and in 9 and 25 if episodes and merch are planned. The free check shows the closest live marks; then search the podcast directories and video platforms for shows using the name.
2. Choose a name that does not describe the topic. A show called The Personal Finance Podcast registers, if at all, with the words disclaimed. How to name a brand you can trademark has the checklist.
3. Decide whether the mark is the show's name, your name or both, and gather consents for every living person named in it.
4. Publish at least two episodes, or file on intent to use before the first one.
5. Capture the show page with the episodes visible, with the URL and date.
6. File the word mark; the cover art is a separate design mark for later. Your attorney reviews the show page before anything is filed.

Launching a show? Describe it and the check suggests the Class 41 wording and screens the name against the marks already out there. Check my trademark for free

Questions about this topic

Can I trademark the name of a podcast that has only one episode?

You can file, but the record should show an ongoing show. The USPTO refuses the title of a single creative work as a trademark, and while an ongoing podcast is a service rather than a single work, a specimen with one episode invites that refusal. Publish a second episode before filing on use, or file on intent to use now.

Do I need my co-host's permission to trademark a show named after us both?

Yes. Under Section 2(c) of the Trademark Act, a mark that includes the name of a particular living individual cannot register without that person's written consent, so a show named after two hosts needs consent from both. The consents are filed with the application and become part of the public record.

Does a trademark stop someone copying my podcast's format?

No. A trademark protects the name of the show and the goodwill in it, so that another show cannot trade under a confusingly similar name. The format, the segments and the idea are protected by nothing; the recordings, scripts and artwork are protected by copyright, which stops copying of the actual episodes but not of the concept.

Related guides

• Trademarks for a clothing brand: Class 25 and its neighbors, the ornamental refusal that hits a name printed across a shirt, labels and hang tags as specimens, and logo versus word mark.
• Trademark vs copyright vs patent: which protects what: Trademarks, copyrights and patents compared: what each protects, which office grants it, how long it lasts, what it costs, and why an LLC is neither.
• Trademark specimens: what the USPTO accepts and what it refuses: What a trademark specimen is, the difference between specimens for goods and services, examples the USPTO accepts and refuses, and how to prepare one.

Contact

Trademarky, LLC, 78 SW 7th St, 5th FL, Miami, FL 33130. (305) 562-6800, hello@trademarky.io. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm ET. Available by appointment.

This free check is an AI-assisted preliminary screening against known U.S. trademark records. It is not a comprehensive clearance search and not legal advice. Only a licensed attorney can advise you on whether to file.