When reviewing advertising or helping my marketing colleagues with their advertising, they'll often ask me if a name is copyrighted. I find this irritating. No, the name isn't copyrighted. You can't copyright a name. But you can trademark a name. I will explain the differences so you don't have to annoy your own lawyer.
Think of a copyright as an artist and a trademark as a businessman. A copyright protects original, artistic expressions. Think music, artwork, books, etc. Artwork can make big money for sure. But that's not usually why it's created in the first place. Artwork is created because the artist had to create it. Because they're an artist. They had to express themselves. And those expressions are what copyrights are meant to protect (for the most part, we're not going to get into any nuance here). So, a copyright is an artist. They live in Brooklyn, press their own coffee, and probably think Mamdani is terrific. So, is a name a work of art? No. Some people might think theirs is, but it isn't. Not ever. And if it's not artwork, it can't be copyrighted. Names, therefore, cannot be copyrighted.
Trademarks, on the other hand, are all business. The whole point of a trademark is to identify the source of goods or services sold in commerce. When you hear, see, or even smell a trademark, it immediately makes you think of the business behind it. Names/brand names, therefore, are the quintessential trademark. Someone says Netflix, you know they're talking about that one streaming service. You hear ba dap bop dap da, you know that's McDonald's. You see Just Do It, you know that’s Nike. It's all about identifying the source of something being offered for sale. As unique and creative as the assets (and their creators) may be, art isn’t the point. It's business.
To be sure, some trademarks can also qualify for copyright protection. But only when they cross into actual artwork. Take, for instance, the Starbucks siren logo. In that situation, we have a genuine work of art functioning as a source identifier. But that can’t happen with names alone, which brings me back to the original point--names can't be copyrighted.
So, if you want to know which form of legal protection might apply in a given situation, ask yourself, is this an artist or a businessman? Getting it right will impress your lawyer, which must surely be at the top of your to-do list.