I was doing a little research and found that very few, if barley any, bands & "promoters" do not have there business / band name filed with the state. Black Flood Diesel & Skywynd are about the only 2 I found. I figured alot more bands, and music promotors/agents would be regestered with the state...
http://da.sos.state.mn.us/minnesota/corp_inquiry-find.asp?:Norder_item_type_id=9&sm=6
How do I register? Pardon my ignorance, but I've never done it before.
regards,
~Ether~
While it helps ID the true business owner of a company, and legally you cant do any business under a differant name other than your own full name unless you regester, there are lots of other benefits as well by filing - and it only costs about $25 plus have if run in the local paper.
Makes it easier when it comes to tax time as well.
MisterMayhem wrote:I did with JCM Records. I am going to cancel it soon.
Why would you want to cancel it?
If your band has plans of becoming a "national act" you may want to trademark your band name / logo through the Department of Commerce "United States Patent and Trademark Office" I think the cost is still under $400. If you want more info, or to get an application, visit http://www.uspto.gov/ It's a slow process and I think legal representation concerning this is a must because you'll be dealing with the masters of red tape, "The U.S. Government"
If I'm not me then who am I and how come I look so much like me?!?
JDL wrote: If your band has plans of becoming a "national act" you may want to trademark your band name / logo through the Department of Commerce "United States Patent and Trademark Office" I think the cost is still under $400. If you want more info, or to get an application, visit http://www.uspto.gov/ It's a slow process and I think legal representation concerning this is a must because you'll be dealing with the masters of red tape, "The U.S. Government"
A "Trademark" and a "Doing Business As" filing (regardless of the entity type) are 2 differant things, but yes, you are right. It's also a good thing to trademark your work &/or your logo...
I have registered bands with bandname.com & other places & stuff. I dont know how legally binding they are, but I think bandname.com is pretty official.
I am incorporated with the state... I've had StuperMan, Inc since '98- When I first got it, it was going to be for music, but I actually use it for my real estate & investment biz.
I have, however, had checks written out to StuperMan, Inc. for a few albums & t-shirts of a past band. At least 5 or 6... Yipee!
Bandname.com only provides a place to register just that - a bandname. It still doesn't register it with the state for legallity & tax purposes. I've used that to in the past and although it looks pretty official, I think it just helps secure the band name for copyright value later on after everything else is filed. Until then, the name can still be taken and used until it's trademarked or copyrighted, according to the Secretary of State's office.
Band names can only be trademarked, not copyrighted.
Bandname.com is not legally binding.
The filing fee for a U.S. trademark application is $325 if you file online in one class (different goods and services, such as live performance, recordings, and clothing, are in different classes. Filing is not mandatory, but offers some pretty compelling benefits.
This is what I do for a living. I don't take on clients, but am always happy to give a little free advice.
It's not the heat, it's the stupidity
Josh wrote: The filing fee for a U.S. trademark application is $325 if you file online in one class (different goods and services, such as live performance, recordings, and clothing, are in different classes. Filing is not mandatory, but offers some pretty compelling benefits. This is what I do for a living. I don't take on clients, but am always happy to give a little free advice.
Is there anyone you can have sex with to get that pricetag lowered a bit?
Josh wrote:Band names can only be trademarked, not copyrighted. Bandname.com is not legally binding. The filing fee for a U.S. trademark application is $325 if you file online in one class (different goods and services, such as live performance, recordings, and clothing, are in different classes. Filing is not mandatory, but offers some pretty compelling benefits. This is what I do for a living. I don't take on clients, but am always happy to give a little free advice.
Ether wrote: Josh wrote: The filing fee for a U.S. trademark application is $325 if you file online in one class (different goods and services, such as live performance, recordings, and clothing, are in different classes. Filing is not mandatory, but offers some pretty compelling benefits. This is what I do for a living. I don't take on clients, but am always happy to give a little free advice. Is there anyone you can have sex with to get that pricetag lowered a bit? ~Ether~
Yes, the Commissioner of Trademark. However, the plane ticket to D.C. would mean you don't break even.
When you think about it, you're getting preemptive rights nationwide for your name, even if you haven't toured, sold, or got airplay there. Not bad for a few hundred bones. And when you think that you'd have to spend a couple hundred times that amount in a fight for your name, seems like a pretty good deal.
What are some of the "compelling benefits" of Trademarking your name? Other than reserving the rights to it, did you say there are tax benefits or something like that? Do you have to register to different classes, like the merchandise sales vs live performance?
Thanks a lot for the free advice, the technicalities of the legal world can be mind-numbing.
The main one is the stake in the ground I alluded to above of having nationwide rights. Without a registration (under the "common law" system), any rights you get from using the name are limited to the area of geographic penetration (ooh) where you've used the name. So my old band Portrait Of Anger, which got as far west as Anoka and as far east as Hudson, probably wouldn't be able to stop a band from Eau Claire using the same name. And then it's a race to put more territory under your belt. Once you've filed your application, your rights extend from western Hawaii (or Guam or whatever) to easternmost Maine, whether or not you ever play a show there. If there was another band with the same name before you filed, you couldn't stop them from using the name in their area, but you "freeze" them into that area - you own all the territory where neither of you have been.
That may be of limited value to bands that never get out of the Cities, but to bands with legit national aspirations, it's a small price to pay to save yourself a potentially huge headache. And stuff.
I realized I didn't answer the whole question;
No tax benefits until you start getting into offshore IP holding companies, royalty streams, and things like that. Really, it's all just about protecting your name.
And ideally you should register in all appropriate classes (i.e. performance, recordings, clothing - and them edible panties are in a different class than regular undies). For example, Metallica has 30 registrations and pending applications for the Metallica name. Why? To determine infringement, the court or jury looks at a number of factors to decide the overall question of "likelihood of confusion" - will consumers believe that the junior user's product is affiliated somehow with the senior user. One of those factors is similarity of goods. Clothing is similar to clothing, obviously, but whether clothing is similar to CDs is a dicier question. As a practical matter, I would start with performance and then do the other classes as circumstances warrant.