Keep calm and … trademark this slogan? The folks over at the Trademarkology blog say it’s not so easy. In a recent post, Amy Cahill writes that “a slogan is generally not protectable under trademark law, unless it also serves as a trademark.”
Basically, Cahill says, this means the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office usually deems wording across a T-shirt or other product as “mere ornamentation for the goods.” To make it a trademark, the marks or words “must function as commercial indicators of the source of goods.” She suggests using the phrasing on tags or labels, embroidered onto hems or pockets of clothing products, anything to make it seem like a trademark and recognizable. It must be noted, however, that the slogan doesn’t need to be part of the business name.
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