Can you trademark the title of a song, book, film, or podcast?

Writers, musicians, filmmakers and podcasters often assume a strong title is something they can lock down. Federal trademark law and copyright law both answer that question more narrowly than most creators expect. This page explains the USPTO's rule on titles, what turns a title into a registrable series name, and what protection is left when a title cannot be registered. For how trademark and copyright divide the work generally, see our main copyright and trademark law page.

How the USPTO handles a title, step by step

1. Check what is already filed. Search the USPTO's records for the title and close variations used for books, recordings, films or entertainment services. A registered series name close to yours can block your application, as our page on responding to a likelihood-of-confusion refusal explains.
2. Decide what you are claiming. A series name is claimed for goods such as printed books, a show title for entertainment or educational services (TMEP 1301.02(d)). The USPTO base application fee is $350 per class (fee schedule, last revised August 14, 2026).
3. Choose a filing basis. If two different works are already out, file based on use. If the series is still planned, an intent-to-use application reserves your place, but the single-work question usually waits until you file proof of use (TMEP 1202.08(f)).
4. Examination. The examining attorney reviews your specimen and may check your website or ask for information to decide whether the content really changes from work to work (TMEP 1202.08(b)).
5. Answer any refusal. You have three months from the issue date, extendable once by three months for $125 (37 CFR 2.62). The usual answer is covers showing the title on at least two different works (TMEP 1202.08(c)). If the deadline has passed, read what to do after a missed office action deadline.
6. Publication. Anyone who believes they would be damaged has 30 days after publication to oppose, extendable on request (15 U.S.C. 1063(a)), a contest explained in what happens in a TTAB trademark opposition. Without a successful opposition, a use-based mark registers and an intent-to-use mark receives a notice of allowance (15 U.S.C. 1063(b)).

Why won't the USPTO register the title of a single work?

The USPTO's examination manual says the title, or a portion of a title, of a single creative work must be refused, and that it is not registrable on either the Principal Register or the Supplemental Register (TMEP 1202.08). The reasoning comes from the relationship with copyright. A copyright eventually expires, while a trademark can last as long as it is used, and once a work enters the public domain everyone must be free to call it by its name. A title of one work is also understood to describe that work rather than to tell buyers who made it.

The manual treats books, sound recordings, downloadable songs, films and recorded discs as usually being single creative works. Selling the same work in several formats does not change that, and neither does translating it into another language. A play or musical is a single work too, because its content does not significantly change from one performance to the next (TMEP 1202.08(a)).

When does a title become registrable?

When it names a series. The name of a series of books or other creative works may be registered if it identifies the source, and the applicant must show the title in use on at least two different creative works (TMEP 1202.08(c)). Publications whose content changes with each issue, such as magazines, newsletters and comic books, are not single works, and neither are a second edition with significant new content, live band performances, television and radio series, or educational seminars (TMEP 1202.08(b)). Computer software, computer games, coloring books and activity books are not treated as single creative works either.

Some things do not create a series. Putting the same title on a print book and an audiobook, on abridged and unabridged versions, or on posters, mugs and T-shirts promoting the work does not establish a series, and evidence that you intend to create one is not enough. You do not, however, have to show that the other works existed before you filed (TMEP 1202.08(c)).

What about a show, a podcast or a film franchise?

For services, the manual says the title of a continuing series of presentations, such as a television or movie series, a series of live performances or a continuing radio program, may be a mark for entertainment or educational services. The title of one episode or one event, presented as one program, is not (TMEP 1301.02(d)). A podcast that keeps publishing new episodes raises the same question the manual asks of any program: does the name identify a continuing series, or just one recording? A film franchise is analyzed the same way as a book series, through evidence of more than one work.

Doesn't copyright protect the title?

No. The U.S. Copyright Office says names, titles and short phrases are not copyrightable because they contain too little authorship, and it will not register them even when they are novel or clever. Its list of examples includes the title or subtitle of a book or a song, and the name of a band or performing group. The same circular notes that names, titles or short phrases may sometimes be protectable under trademark law (Copyright Office Circular 33). The work itself is still protected by copyright once it is fixed; only the title stands on its own. Our post First Things First: what a copyright is covers what copyright does reach.

Because the title is not protected on its own, what you can protect is the work itself: our page on registering a film or screenplay with the Copyright Office covers scripts and finished films. A title that names a pitch rather than a finished work raises the same problem as an idea; see whether someone can steal your film or show idea.

What protection is left for a single title?

• The brand behind the work. The name of your imprint, label or production company raises a different question from the title, because it identifies who stands behind the works rather than naming one of them. Author and performer names have their own USPTO test (TMEP 1202.09(a)), explained in can you trademark your band or artist name.
• The series name. If more works are coming, a series title may become registrable once the second one is out.
• False association law. Federal law reaches uses of words or names that are likely to cause confusion about who made, sponsored or approved goods or services (15 U.S.C. 1125(a)). Whether it applies to a particular title depends heavily on the facts.
• Contracts. In publishing, distribution and production deals, the parties can agree who controls a title and how it may be used. Co-authors should settle who controls the title in their collaboration agreement; see who owns a co-authored book.
• Other people's brands in your work. A title or scene that uses someone else's brand raises the opposite question; our page on whether brands, logos or artwork can appear on screen without permission covers it.

If a similar name has been filed by someone else, our guide to what to do when someone files for your brand name explains the options. Where the name is really a business or brand name, our comparison of Georgia and federal trademark registration covers where it can be filed.

What changes the answer

• How much the content changes. A new edition that only fixes typos is the same work; a significantly revised edition is not. A work issued in chapters or installments is still one work (TMEP 1202.08(a), 1202.08(b)).
• The whole title or part of it. A recurring phrase inside longer titles is registrable only if it creates a separate commercial impression, is used on a series, and is promoted or recognized as a mark. Examiners look at size, font, color and spacing on the cover (TMEP 1202.08(d), 1202.08(d)(i)).
• A title inside a logo. The logo may register, but a single-work title in it must be disclaimed unless the evidence shows a series (TMEP 1202.08).
• Your filing basis. In applications based on a foreign or international registration, where no specimen is required, the examiner can refuse at once if the record shows a single work (TMEP 1202.08(f)).
• Names rather than titles. Author and performer names follow a parallel series test. If the source showing fails, a Section 1 or 44 application may go on the Supplemental Register, and an artist's name on original works of art needs no series at all (TMEP 1202.09(a), 1202.09(b)).

A worked example

Common mistakes

• Filing for the title of a debut album or one novel. A single-work title is refused on both registers, so the application cannot succeed on that title alone (TMEP 1202.08).
• Counting formats or merchandise as a series. Hardcover, ebook, audiobook, a translation, and mugs or T-shirts promoting the work are all still one work (TMEP 1202.08(a), 1202.08(c)).
• Hiding the series name inside each full title. Set in the same type as the rest of the title, it may not create a separate commercial impression (TMEP 1202.08(d)(i)). Specimen problems like this are covered in what to do when the USPTO refuses your specimen.
• Reading early silence as approval. In an intent-to-use application, the single-work refusal can arrive with the statement of use even if the first office action never raised it (TMEP 1202.08(f)).
• Assuming the copyright registration covers the title. The Copyright Office does not register titles, so a registered book or song still leaves its name unprotected by copyright (Circular 33).

What to do this week

1. List every work that carries the name, or will, with release dates and formats, and mark which have genuinely different content.
2. Search the USPTO's records for the name and close variations covering books, recordings, films and entertainment services.
3. If the name is part of longer titles, set it apart on covers: its own line, larger type or a different color.
4. Start a folder of series evidence: each cover, promotion of the series name, and reviews that refer to the series by name (TMEP 1202.08(d)(iii)).
5. Register copyright in the works themselves; our page on copyright registration cost and processing time explains the fees and timing.
6. Check your publishing, label or distribution contract for who controls the title and the series name.
7. If you are in Georgia, our Atlanta intellectual property and entertainment lawyer page covers what the firm handles for Atlanta songwriters, filmmakers and creators.

Frequently asked questions

Can I trademark my album or single title?

Usually not. The USPTO treats sound recordings and downloadable songs as single creative works, so the title of one album or single is refused (TMEP 1202.08(a)). What you can protect is the music itself through copyright, and our guide on how to register a song explains the composition and the recording.

Can I trademark the name of my podcast or YouTube show?

Possibly, as a service mark for entertainment or educational services, if the name identifies a continuing series rather than one episode (TMEP 1301.02(d)). Our post on trademark protection for content creators covers the wider brand questions.

Can someone else publish a book with the same title as mine?

Often, yes. Neither copyright nor trademark law gives you an automatic monopoly on a single title. A claim may exist if the other use is likely to confuse readers about who made or approved the work (15 U.S.C. 1125(a)), or if your title is a registered series name.

Does putting "Volume 1" on the cover make it a series?

It helps, because the manual treats a "volume 1" or "book 1" label as evidence that a work is part of a series (TMEP 1202.08(b)). But the application still needs the title on at least two different works, and an intent to create more is not enough (TMEP 1202.08(c)).

Can I register my pen name or stage name?

A name used only to identify the writer or artist is refused. It can register if it is used on a series of works and the record shows it identifies the source of the series, through promotion and recognition or through control over the quality of the works (TMEP 1202.09(a)).

Zala IP Law works with authors, musicians, filmmakers and production companies on trademark questions across the United States. If you are naming a new project, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701 before the title is on the cover.