I need to copyright a slogan

for one of my sites. Which is the best way to go about it?

 

You cannot copyright a slogan. You need register it as a trademark.

Source

 

So how did SEO Tutor© copyright his name?

 

a name is different from a slogan...

 

I am sure he hasn't.

Either he has copyrighted the entire content of his site or is just using the copyright symbol to scare away plagiarists.

Even in that case he has to register it as a trademark.

 

That passage states:

 

OK, so technically I could register my slogan as a name then and copyright that one?

Added:

Gotcha. So the question remains: How did our buddy register his name as a copyright?

 

sachin410 is right, you've got to register it as a trademark. Atleast that's how it works in India, not sure about the US.

 

Yeah, I've gotten that much. So how about the guy who regged his name as a copyright?

 

Hehe, I doubt if it is his name in real life, my guess is that he is representing his ebook, which is indeed automatically copyrighted as he has created it.

 

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks (Any other opinions?)

 

Anyone can put a (c) on his site. Many people actually put "TM" and "(R)" marks on their sites without actually registering them. After all no one is going to ask them for proof of registration .

He is just using the (c) symbol and that too in an incorrect manner.

The copyright symbol is accompanied by the year of first publication and name of copyright owner.

If you look at Google homepage, you will see a "TM" near its logo - the name is a trademark.

There is a "(c)2006 Google" at the bottom, which means the copyright of the content of the site lies with Google.

 

True... The prescribed format is:

SeoTutor © 2006 Insert copyright holders name here.

 

And if somebody does a research and find out that the item is not really Trademarked - he/she can take it over - based on your goodwill he can rob you. So if your slogan is really catchy and unique - get it trademarked before somebody else steals it. Its like domain names. People buy cool domains and then sell - same with trademarked items if you have goodwill on that.

Thats how it works in US.

 

If you plan on Registering the trademark, within 3 years, you can put (TM).

 

Do you have a domain name with this slogan in it?

If you hold the dot com, you could if anyone else owns a domain containing the slogan.
If your slogan becomes catchy and you've trademarked it you could probably send out C & D notices to people trying to piggyback on your success, though only if the domain was regged after your trademark application.

 

uspto.gov/main.faq/index.html
you might find what you are looking for here

 

not pulling up

 

Anyone Can use the C for copyright, TM for trademark, or SM for service mark without actually filing....... It is not legal to use the R unless the mark is officially registered.

Here is a link for Trademark Registration Filing Online
http://www.uspto.gov/teas/index.html

 

You can trademark slogans without registering them just as you can copyright you works without registering them. Legally speaking, you have a much better case when resolving infringement issues if you actually register though.