Can You Copyright a Name, Title, or Slogan?

No. Names, titles, and short slogans cannot be copyrighted. This is a clear rule with no real exceptions. The US Copyright Office explicitly refuses registration of these elements. Other jurisdictions follow similar rules.

That doesn’t mean these things have no protection. It means the protection comes from a different legal regime: trademark law. Here’s the actual distinction and what to do for each.

Why copyright doesn’t cover names and titles

Copyright protects original creative expression. Names, titles, and short slogans don’t meet the originality threshold copyright requires:

• They’re typically too short to constitute creative expression
• They function as identifiers, not as standalone creative works
• Protecting them would create monopolies on common phrases
• Trademark law already protects them appropriately

A two-word slogan, a band name, a book title, a company name — none of these are protected by copyright. The US Copyright Office Practice Manual is explicit on this point.

What this means in practice:

• “Twilight” as a book title can be reused for other books (and has been)
• “Just Do It” as a slogan isn’t copyright-protected (though it is trademark-protected)
• “Nike” as a company name isn’t copyright-protected (trademark again)
• A character name (like “Harry Potter”) generally isn’t copyright-protected on its own, though the surrounding work and character development can be

What does protect names and titles

The actual protection regime is trademark. For a fuller treatment of how copyright, trademark, and patent relate, see our companion piece. The summary:

Trademark protects: Words, phrases, symbols, designs that identify the source of goods or services.

Trademark requires:

• Use in commerce
• Distinctiveness (the mark must function as a brand identifier)
• Registration (for strongest protection)

Trademark gives you:

• Right to prevent confusingly similar uses in your trade area
• Right to use the ® symbol for registered marks
• Right to sue for infringement and recover damages

Unlike copyright, trademark is jurisdictional. A US trademark gives you US rights. EU trademarks cover the EU. Each country needs its own registration for protection there.

The specific categories

How this applies to common situations:

Book titles

Individual book titles are not copyrightable. They’re also typically not trademarkable as single titles (a single book isn’t enough use in commerce to establish a brand).

Series titles can be trademarkable once they’re established across multiple works. “Harry Potter” became a trademark through the seven books that built recognition. “The Hunger Games” similarly.

For an individual book, your protection is in the book’s content (copyright), not the title.

Movie and TV titles

Same logic. Single titles aren’t typically protected. Established franchise titles (Star Wars, Marvel) become trademarks through use.

Band names and musical artist names

Trademark territory. Bands typically register their names as trademarks for music recordings, performances, and merchandise. Multiple bands have had identical names historically, but trademark conflicts can force renaming when one becomes commercially significant.

Slogans and taglines

Trademark territory. Distinctive slogans associated with brands can be trademarked. “Just Do It” (Nike), “I’m Lovin’ It” (McDonald’s), “Think Different” (Apple) are all registered trademarks.

Generic phrases that don’t function as brand identifiers can’t be trademarked. “Good food, good people” is too generic to qualify; “Coca-Cola: It’s the Real Thing” can be (and was historically).

Company names

Trademark and corporate registration territory. Your company’s legal name is registered with your state or country. Your trade name (the name you do business as) can be trademarked.

Domain names

Domain names per se aren’t IP — they’re just internet addresses. But they often correspond to trademark protected names. Domain disputes are handled through ICANN’s UDRP system rather than traditional copyright or trademark courts.

Personal names

Generally not copyrightable. Sometimes trademarkable if used commercially in a brand context (celebrity names: “Beyoncé” is trademarked; “Oprah” is trademarked).

Right of publicity provides additional protection for commercial use of names — see our piece on deepfakes and likeness rights for the related context.

When you might think titles are protected (but they’re not)

Some common misunderstandings:

“My book’s title is unique, surely it’s copyrighted?” No, uniqueness doesn’t make a title copyrightable. The legal threshold is creative expression, which titles generally don’t meet regardless of how unique they are.

“The title appears in the table of contents and is part of the work.” The book itself has copyright. The title within the work has whatever protection the book has as a literary work. But the title alone, taken out of context, isn’t separately protected.

“It’s a creative phrase that took me hours to come up with.” Effort doesn’t create copyrightability. The phrase still needs to meet the originality and expression threshold, which short phrases generally don’t.

“It’s part of my registered copyright.” Your copyright registration covers the work. The title is mentioned in the registration but isn’t separately protected as a distinct element.

What you can actually do

For names, titles, and slogans you want to protect:

Step 1: Register a trademark

If the name/title/slogan functions as a brand identifier in commerce:

• Apply through USPTO (US), EUIPO (EU), UKIPO (UK), or your national office
• Specify the goods/services class your mark covers
• Use the ™ symbol while application is pending, ® once registered
• Maintain use in commerce to avoid abandonment

For individual brand owners, basic trademark filing fees range from $250-$350 per class in the US, plus optional attorney fees ($1,000-$3,000 typically). Filing takes 8-12 months for typical applications.

Step 2: Build common law trademark rights

In the US, you can establish trademark rights through actual use even without registration. These “common law” rights are limited to the geographic area of use and weaker than registered rights, but they exist automatically.

For a small business or individual creator just starting out, common law rights protect against direct copying without the cost of registration. Registration becomes worthwhile as the brand grows.

Step 3: Protect the underlying creative work with copyright

While the title isn’t copyrightable, the work the title labels is. A book, song, film, software product — these all have copyright in the content. Register the underlying work properly.

For how this works for a book specifically, see our book copyright guide.

Step 4: Domain protection

Register relevant domain names that match your brand. If the brand is significant, register variations (yourbrand.com, yourbrand.co, yourbrand.io, yourbrand.net, etc.) to prevent confusion.

For brand domain disputes, the UDRP process can recover domains that infringe on your trademark rights.

Step 5: Social media handles

Register social media handles consistent with your brand. While platforms have their own dispute processes, having the handle prevents confusion and makes future enforcement easier.

The hybrid case: characters

A specific situation that crosses lines: fictional characters with distinctive names.

The character itself (when sufficiently developed and original) can have copyright protection as part of the work where the character appears. Sherlock Holmes, Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter are all characters with copyright protection.

The character’s name alone isn’t typically copyrightable. But the character as a fully-developed creation, with personality, distinctive characteristics, and recognizable traits, can be.

The line is fuzzy. “Holmes” alone might not be protected; “Sherlock Holmes, the eccentric detective with deductive abilities operating from 221B Baker Street with companion Dr. Watson” probably is.

For brand-significant characters, both copyright (for the character as creative work) and trademark (for the character name and likeness as brand identifiers) often apply.

Common situations and what to do

You wrote a book and you’re worried about title infringement. The title isn’t copyrightable. If you want to protect it as a series, build the series and then trademark the series name. For an individual book, focus on protecting the manuscript itself.

You have a band name and another band started using a similar name. This is trademark territory. Check if you have common law rights through prior use. Consider trademark registration for the band name covering music recordings and live performances.

You came up with a slogan for your business. If it’s distinctive enough to function as a brand identifier, apply for trademark. While application is pending, use ™.

You named your character and now someone is using the name. If the character is sufficiently developed in your work, copyright covers the character. Trademark might also apply if the character is commercially used. Both regimes may be relevant.

A competitor is using your distinctive product name. Trademark. File for registration if you haven’t, and consider enforcement action through cease and desist or USPTO opposition proceedings.

The realistic strategy

For most working creators and small business owners:

• Don’t try to copyright names or short phrases. That isn’t how the legal system works.
• Use trademark for brand identifiers. Register when the brand has commercial significance.
• Use copyright for the substantive creative work. Books, songs, films, software, designs.
• Use the right symbols. © for copyright, ® for registered trademarks, ™ for unregistered or pending trademarks.

The categories work together. Your book has copyright in its content and (if it’s a series) trademark in its name. Your brand has copyright in its visual elements and trademark in its name and logo. The two regimes complement rather than overlap.

For the broader copyright vs trademark vs patent analysis, see our companion piece.

The takeaway: when someone asks “can I copyright this name?”, the answer is no. The follow-up question is “what should I actually do?” The answer is usually trademark, and the path forward depends on the specific situation. Names need their own legal regime; copyright isn’t it.