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You cannot copyright a blog name, but you may be able to protect it as a trademark if it identifies the source of your blog’s goods or services. A logo can potentially qualify for both trademark protection and copyright protection: trademark law addresses its source-identifying role, while copyright may cover original artwork with sufficient authorship. The protections are different, and neither automatically gives you exclusive rights to use a name or image in every context.
Trademark and copyright protect different things
Copyright protects eligible original expression. Trademark protects a word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination used to identify the source of goods or services and distinguish them from others. A service mark is a mark used for services. A blog name may function as a trademark when readers recognize it as identifying the source of the blog’s services or related offerings; the name is not copyrighted just because it appears on a website.
The U.S. Copyright Office says that “Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases.” Its guidance also explains that logo artwork may qualify for copyright protection when it contains sufficient original authorship. The same logo may therefore serve as a trademark and, separately, be copyrightable artwork. Not every logo qualifies: a name rendered in ordinary lettering or a design with too little original expression may not meet the copyright standard. See the Copyright Office’s copyright FAQ and the USPTO’s trademark overview.
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Blog name
No. A blog name is a name or title, not copyrightable expression. Copyright registration cannot turn a short name, title, slogan, or phrase into a copyrighted work. If the name identifies the source of your services or products, trademark law may be relevant instead.
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Logo
Possibly. Copyright may protect the original visual artwork in a logo if it has sufficient authorship. That protection concerns the artwork—not a general claim to the words or name depicted in it. A logo can also function as a trademark when used to identify the source of goods or services. These are separate legal questions, and copyright eligibility does not establish trademark availability or registration.
Can you trademark a blog name or logo?
Potentially, if the name or logo is used as a source identifier for particular goods or services and is distinguishable from others’ marks in that context. Trademark rights are connected to the goods or services for which the mark is used; they do not give ownership of a word or image for every purpose. A proposed mark’s availability or registrability cannot be determined without considering the actual mark, its use, related goods or services, and existing similar marks.
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Trademark rights can arise from use, even without federal registration, but unregistered rights may be geographically limited. Federal registration is optional. It can provide broader rights across the United States and its territories for the registered mark and specified goods or services, along with public notice and other benefits. Registration does not make the USPTO responsible for enforcing your rights; owners are responsible for maintaining registrations and addressing infringement. Read the USPTO’s explanation of registration benefits.
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A domain or business filing is not a trademark registration
Registering a domain gives you control of that web address under the registrar’s terms; it does not itself create federal trademark registration. Merely using a name as a website address does not, by itself, establish trademark use. Similarly, forming a business or registering a business name is distinct from registering a trademark with the USPTO. These steps may serve different purposes, but none automatically settles whether a name is available as a trademark.
How to assess and apply for a federal trademark
- Identify the mark and what it identifies. Decide whether you are seeking protection for the blog name as wording, a logo design, or both. Identify the actual goods or services the blog offers; publishing a website alone does not settle which description or classification applies.
- Search for similar marks. Use the USPTO’s trademark search system to look for similar federal applications and registrations, including marks related to your goods or services. A federal database search is not a complete clearance search: some common-law rights may not appear there. Also search the internet and relevant state and business-name databases. The USPTO search guidance explains the federal search resource.
- Describe goods or services accurately. A federal application identifies the goods or services with which the mark is used or genuinely intended to be used. Do not claim coverage for offerings you neither use the mark with nor genuinely intend to offer; an inaccurate or overbroad claim can create problems or lead to denial. Consult the USPTO guidance on identifying goods and services.
- File only for the mark and scope you can support. An application does not guarantee registration. The appropriate filing depends on the mark, actual or intended use, and the goods or services identified. For a particular blog name or logo, the available evidence here cannot establish whether it is clear, distinctive, owned by the applicant, or registrable.
- Maintain and enforce any registration. Registration does not transfer enforcement duties to the USPTO. The owner must meet applicable maintenance requirements and take responsibility for enforcing the mark.
Which symbol can you use?
- TM may signal a claimed trademark for goods, and SM may signal a claimed service mark. USPTO guidance permits their use even before federal registration.
- ® is for a federally registered mark, and should be used only in connection with the goods or services covered by that registration.
These symbols communicate a claim or registration status; they do not replace a search, application, or legal assessment. See the USPTO’s trademark basics.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Practical summary
- A blog name cannot be copyrighted as a name, title, slogan, or short phrase.
- A blog name may be protectable as a trademark when it identifies the source of particular goods or services.
- A logo may function as a trademark, and its original artwork may separately qualify for copyright if it contains sufficient authorship.
- A domain registration, business-name filing, copyright claim, and federal trademark registration are not interchangeable.
- Search beyond the USPTO database, describe offerings accurately, and do not assume that registration grants rights in every context.
This is general U.S. information, not legal advice or a clearance opinion for a specific name or logo.
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