"Is there any way I can check if someone's used my band name already?"

Q: Terry Drumgoole from Belfast is wondering if there’s any way he can check if any other band has taken his band’s name already.

A: This is a tough one, Terry, as there could be a band who formed last Wednesday planning to use your name in, say, Tasmania and it’s not so easy to check up on. But it’s worth doing all you can to avoid duplication in a band name as it can lead to legal and financial problems later on. Record companies will generally check on their artists names for duplication but it is a good idea to do this work now. No point in establishing an identity in Ireland only to discover that you can’t use the name in the UK or the US. Begin by trying a thorough surf of the Internet by entering your name on a search engine and see what comes up. Visit some music websites – hotpress.com, www.amazon.com, cdnow.com or allmusic.com for example. The US Patent and Trademark Office have a website which you can search for trademark applications and registrations.

Check as many music encyclopaedias as you can. Ask music industry fogeys, the older the better, if they’ve ever heard the name used before. You could also ask a reputable accountant to check out if that name is registered as a trade name in the UK and Irish companies offices. At some stage you should take steps to register your name. It might also be useful to register the Internet domain name as you’ll almost certainly want to set up a website in the future. Remember this is a very complicated legal area. If there are any problems with the name, no matter how small they appear, you must get legal advice. You should not ignore it as it could come back to haunt them at a later stage.

All answers supplied by O.J. Kilkenny and Co. Chartered Accountants, specialists in the entertainment and music industry. You can contact them at [email protected] or call Michael McKenna (01) 661 1588