Are you starting a dark and unusual boutique? Is your name... "The Goth Shop"?

You may want to rethink that. Trademarks are meant to identify the source of your goods. A generic name like "The Goth Shop," “Occult Emporium,” or “Curl Up and Die” is just too common to identify a specific source. The law won't let you lock down a name that many other spooky stores already use.

Those names also suffer from being descriptive. Names that merely describe what you do, what you sell, etc., can’t be protected by trademark law. You aren’t allowed to take common descriptive terms away from everyone else.

Want to build a strong brand? Choose a name that’s arbitrary, fanciful, or suggestive. Think of “The Cure.” Those words have nothing to do with music, so they can be a powerful, protected trademark for a band. Even “Spirit Halloween” is more than just descriptive. It’s the addition of “Spirit” that does that. That’s why they aren’t named “Halloween Emporium.”

Choose a name that's unforgettable, not just descriptive or common!

Don't let your creative work or business become a ghost story. Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you're a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your art, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe!

You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Know Your Rights: Your IP and Business Law Playbook " on all major podcast platforms (video on Spotify, YouTube, Substack, and TikTok only), and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

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