Branding is everything. Today, artistes typically make more money selling their brands than they do selling their music. Trademark is the legal mechanism that protects brands. Therefore, you should trademark your brand name. If you’re an artiste, that means you should trademark your stage name or band name.

If you’re really serious about your musical career there is no reason to wait until you “blow up” to take this important step. Actually, waiting can lead to big time headaches and legal issues down the road.
Do you remember when Common was Common Sense? Do you know why he changed his name? He changed his name because he was sued for infringing on the trademark of a lesser known band. Do you want to spend years building your career and brand only to be forced to change your name later? Of course not.
It is a good idea to make sure no one else can claim a trademark in your chosen stage name as early as possible and then trademark the name yourself.
You can register your trademark – a name, logo, slogan, domain name, shape, color or sound with the Commercial Law department, Ministry of Trade and Investment in Nigeria.

Registering a federal trademark, however, is not cheap. The application fee is non-refundable. The complexity of trademark law make it prudent to consult with a lawyer, who can perform, or arrange for the performance, of exhaustive searches and has the expertise to analyze the results to ensure the name is clear.
But there are significant benefits to owning a federally registered trademark:

• – You reserve the right to use the mark throughout the entire nation and prevent others from acquiring rights in confusingly similar marks.
• – Your mark is presumed to be valid, which means that the burden is on the other party using a confusingly similar mark to prove your mark is invalid.
• – After five years of continuous use after registering your mark, you can file an affidavit and make your mark “incontestable.”
• – You can facilitate the registration of your mark in foreign countries or via international registration protocols.
Notwithstanding the above discussion, a forced name change is not necessarily a career killer. After all, Common has been more successful since the name change.

Anyway, this is just basic information to let you know how important this is to your career. Bear in mind that I’m not a lawyer, so this article should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances.



you can visit our site to get our direct contact in case you need details and clarity