Words By TNGlive

One of the most personal but important decisions an artist or performer makes is settling on a stage name.

There is no rule saying you cannot use your government name, and likewise there is no rule stating that you’d be absolved from getting into potentially sticky situations with your government name.

In this information age, it goes without saying that one of the first things to do is a quick internet search to see if your chosen name is used elsewhere by someone in a similar field. What also usually goes un-said is when results show no one else is using the name you’ve constructed, it does not automatically mean it’ll remain yours to own at any given time going forward.

Here’s a hypothetical situation. Say you’ve been doing well with your grind, and now there is a deal on the table that will propel you to new heights. If it hasn’t been said, let it be said, there is no such thing as a universally standard contract. There are however things you can look out for, and one of those is ownership of your stage name.

Maybe you sign anyway, ignoring this clause, and later you’re not happy and you want out of the deal. You may be granted permission to exit the deal, but terms and conditions will apply. If the company owns your name, your name remains with the company. Now you can’t release new music using that name, and that is just the beginning of all the things you can no longer do, as you. Imagine that. How many times have you ever wondered what happened to so and so, they were so talented?

So if you don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you have to start over again with your brand identity, after building a fanbase that has come to know you by some other name, then hustle hard to trademark your name as soon as possible.

A good place to start is to search here to find out if your proposed name has been already trademarked by another entity or person in the world’s biggest single market for entertainment. Next you’ll want to do a local search to see if your proposed name hasn't already been trademarked in your country.

Get a Trademark Lawyer

The above should show you that it's not exactly a quick step to the finish line. A trademark can be country specific, or for specified regions in the world where you have filed applications, or worldwide. If you manage to tackle it on your own in your country of residence, then begin trying to register your trademark in other parts of the world, it morphs into a complicated journey. When you have different countries with different laws, the best course of action might be acquiring the services of a lawyer who specialises in trademark law.

Google is your friend, but if you want to go a step further and make sure you’re getting legit services, consult your local lawyers association or a similar organisation that promotes intellectual property law. An example from South Africa is theInstitute of Intellectual Property Law where you can get a list of lawyers who specialise in trademark law. It’s no question this route may be a costly exercise. It's much like purchasing record producing hardware and software, and paying for a mastering engineer's services, this too is a crucial investment to make, funds willing.

Do It Yourself

If you’re going to do it yourself, a useful route to take would be the Madrid Protocol, which will allow you to pay one fee and get trademark protection in approximately 97 countries.

Go here to see a schedule of fees you’ll have to budget for. However, before you can proceed, you will still need to have filed an application for local trademark somewhere in the world, preferably your current country of residence. It's through this first application, that your international trademark application can be forwarded to the World Intellectual Property Organisation for examination.

Go here for a flow chart of their process, and further information on how to proceed with filing and managing your trademark registration.