I think I've finally found a title for my game that isn't used by any other games. I went to a colloquium several years ago that an IP lawyer spoke at and I think I remember him saying that you can trademark something for free simply by adding TM to the end. That way you don't have to pay for the R and it's still protected. Is that correct?

Now that I have my title, what do I have to do with it to keep it safe for me to use in the U.S.? I was planning on making a youtube channel with my title and posting gameplay videos to it. Is that good enough?

I think I've finally found a title for my game that isn't used by any other games. I went to a colloquium several years ago that an IP lawyer spoke at and I think I remember him saying that you can trademark something for free simply by adding TM to the end. That way you don't have to pay for the R and it's still protected. Is that correct?

Now that I have my title, what do I have to do with it to keep it safe for me to use in the U.S.? I was planning on making a youtube channel with my title and posting gameplay videos to it. Is that good enough?

That is a very extreme oversimplification, but yes.

There are automatic trademark protections that come into play the moment you actually use the mark in commerce.

To designate that you intend to protect those marks you use the TM marker. It costs you nothing and demonstrates the intent.

You cannot easily enforce your trademarks in the courts without registering them. That requires a small fee. It also requires money to have your lawyer take action to protect it. Once you have registered your trademark you can use the circled R mark.

At this point you are best either using no trademark marker, or discussing it with an IP lawyer and determining if this is a wise move at this point in your plan. While marking it with TM does grant additional protection, it also comes with some responsibilities about research before use and diligence in protecting the mark after use. Do it wrong and you can be on the wrong side of the law.

I'm mostly concerned with not getting sued myself. Much less so with going after others that use the same name to sell something similar. I'm a long way off from using the name in commerce, but does using the name in promotions (e.g. a youtube channel) help me out at all?

I'm mostly concerned with not getting sued myself. Much less so with going after others that use the same name to sell something similar. I'm a long way off from using the name in commerce, but does using the name in promotions (e.g. a youtube channel) help me out at all?

A trademark only gets protection after being used in commerce. Until you do then you have no trademark.

Don't put the cart before the horse. Get your business plan mapped out. Talk with the Small Business Administration office or other groups.

Or you can just go the route of making a game without a plan, hoping magic will happen and you will succeed through luck.


Either way, trademark consideration is still a long way off for you.