“As an artist, I want to make people happy with my music.” Sound familiar? Most artists play not only for themselves, but for others, too. That’s why you need a good and distinctive stage name. So people can recognise you and your music. To prevent other musicians from using your name and thus causing confusion among the audience, you can register your stage name as a trademark. This gives you more extensive rights than you would if you were to use it as a commercial name. With a trademark, you can prohibit others from using your name. This can avoid a lot of conflict!

Do you want to protect your stage name?

To register your stage name as a trademark you will have to file for registration. In the Benelux you can do this at the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) in The Hague. This official agency manages the trademark register where all registered trademarks are listed. To register your name it must meet certain requirements. It must be distinctive for the goods or services for which it is registered and it may not be descriptive. Knijff can help you meet all requirements. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want your name protected.

A good stage name is distinctive for the products or services for which it is used. Also, a name shouldn’t be descriptive. As a singing ladies trio you cannot name yourselves The Singing Ladies, because it won’t be accepted by the authorities as a trademark. You have to be inventive in coming up with a new name. Are you having trouble thinking of a proper stage name, or do you want legal advice? Let our music consultant help you. Please contact us and present your ideas.