Trademark for Podcasts: Protect the Name of Your Show

You've got 80 episodes, a loyal audience and a sponsor finally returning your emails. Then a show with almost the same name shows up in the same category, and listeners start tagging the wrong one.

A podcast's name is the thing people search, recommend and subscribe to. It's also the part most hosts never lock down. Claiming the name on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Instagram gets you a listing, but it doesn't make you the owner. If you're building a show, our trademark practice can help you own what you're building.

What a podcast can protect

A trademark protects whatever tells the audience who a show or product comes from. For a podcast, that usually means:

• The show name. The name on your feed, your artwork, your website and your intro.
• The logo or cover art mark. A distinctive icon or stylized name, separate from the name itself.
• A recurring tagline. Sometimes, if it works as a brand and not just as a catchphrase.
• A network or company name. If you produce more than one show, the umbrella brand can be its own asset.

A trademark doesn't protect your episodes, your scripts or your ideas. Recorded audio and written material are copyright questions, and a format or concept generally isn't protected by either one. Under the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1127), a mark has to identify and distinguish a source. A name that only describes what's in the show doesn't do that job very well.

Why a descriptive name is a problem

Podcasters often choose names that tell people exactly what the show covers. "The Small Business Podcast" is easy to understand, and that's the problem. Words that simply describe the content are hard to register, because other shows need those words to describe themselves.

The most famous example is Serial. It became one of the most popular podcasts ever made, and popularity still didn't win the word. In 2018, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board upheld a refusal of SERIAL, finding the term generic for an audio program told in installments.

If a show that famous couldn't lock down that word, a new show shouldn't count on a descriptive name getting there. A distinctive name gives you a much stronger starting point, and it's easier to tell apart in a crowded search result.

A series can be a brand. A single title usually can't.

The title of a single creative work, such as one book or one film, generally can't be registered as a trademark. A series is treated differently, because a recurring title can tell the audience the installments come from one source.

An ongoing podcast generally fits better on the series side. Things get less clear with a limited-run or one-season show, and with individual episode titles, which usually aren't brands at all. If you're planning a miniseries, it's worth asking how the name will hold up before you build around it.

Your name can conflict outside podcasting

Clearing a show name takes more than searching a podcast app. The name can conflict with a brand that isn't a podcast at all: a radio show, a YouTube channel, a media company or a business in the field your show covers.

Close can be enough if audiences could be confused. And a name that's free in the app stores may already be registered by someone who has never recorded an episode. Our post on checking a name before you brand it explains why a quick search misses so much.

Who owns the show?

This is where podcasts break up badly, because so many start as two friends and a pair of microphones.

Co-hosts. Nobody signs anything. One edits, one books guests, both post. When they split, each believes the name is theirs, and each may keep publishing. Decide whose name it is, in writing, while everyone still gets along. Our post on filing in your name or your LLC's covers a related decision.

Producers and editors. A freelance producer or designer who made your cover art may own rights in it unless a written agreement says otherwise. Our post on who owns the logo you paid for explains the trap.

Networks. Network and distribution deals can say a lot about the show's name, its feed and what happens when the deal ends. Read those terms before you sign, because the feed and audience you've built may be on the line. Our contracts practice reviews these agreements.

Your registration only covers what it lists

A registration covers specific goods and services, and shows tend to grow sideways. The podcast adds merch, then live shows, a newsletter, a course or a paid community.

Each of those can sit in a different category, and a registration built for the show alone may not reach them. Someone else can claim your name in a category you never covered. Our guide on how many trademark classes you actually need explains the thinking.

What a registration gets you

A federal registration won't stop every copycat on its own, but it changes your position:

• Stronger takedown footing. Platforms take trademark complaints more seriously when a registration backs them up.
• Nationwide reach. Podcasts reach listeners everywhere from the first episode, and a federal registration matches how the show actually travels.
• A cleaner asset to sell or license. Sponsors, networks and buyers want to know you actually own the name.

If someone is already using your name, our guide on what to do when someone is using your trademark lays out the options.

Why this is hard to do alone

A podcast application involves judgment calls early: whether the name is strong enough to register, how to describe what the show actually is, whether to protect the name, the logo or both, which future lines of business to plan for, who the owner should be, and what proof of use will satisfy an examiner.

Each decision shapes what you end up owning, and mistakes tend to surface once the show has an audience and the fix costs far more. Rebranding a show with 200 episodes is a much bigger job than choosing well at episode one.

Questions we hear often

Can I trademark my podcast name? Often, yes, if the name is distinctive, it isn't confusingly close to an existing mark, and you're using it as the name of an ongoing show. Descriptive and generic names are much harder.

Does being on Spotify or Apple Podcasts protect my name? No. A listing gets you on the platform. It doesn't give you ownership of the name.

Do I need a trademark before I launch? You don't need a registration to publish. Clearing the name before you launch is the cheapest time to find a conflict, and an application can be filed before you start. We cover that route in Filing a Trademark Before You Launch.

Does my LLC protect my podcast name? No. Forming an entity and owning a trademark are separate things. We explain why in Does an LLC Protect Your Business Name in Michigan?

When to call ELN

Call us before you name a show, before you sign with a network or sponsor, before you bring on or split from a co-host, and before you expand into merch or live events. We'll search the name against the brands you'd actually conflict with, tell you how strong it is, and handle the filing and anything the USPTO sends back.

Building a podcast? Schedule a consultation or visit our trademark practice.

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