Yes. Celebrities can obtain federal trademark protection for names, nicknames, signatures, logos, catchphrases, and other personal-brand identifiers used on official merchandise, but public recognition alone does not create a clothing trademark.
The central question is how consumers perceive the mark on the merchandise.
If buyers understand a celebrity’s name or logo as identifying merchandise produced, sponsored, authorized, or controlled by the celebrity’s brand, it may function as a trademark. If consumers see the same name merely as decoration, a fan message, or the subject depicted on a T-shirt, the USPTO may refuse registration on the ground that the matter is ornamental rather than source-identifying. Current TMEP §1202.03 expressly distinguishes trademark use from merely decorative use.
This distinction makes celebrity merchandise different from many ordinary consumer-product trademark applications. A famous name can carry enormous commercial recognition while still creating specimen problems when it is displayed incorrectly on apparel.
Key Takeaways
Fame does not automatically create trademark rights for apparel. A celebrity who already owns trademark rights for entertainment, endorsements, or personal appearances may still need separate protection for clothing and other physical merchandise.
Front-of-shirt use can be ornamental. The USPTO considers the size, location, dominance, and commercial impression of the proposed mark. Large wording or imagery across the front of clothing is more likely to be perceived as decoration than a small, discrete source identifier.
Secondary-source recognition can be important for celebrity merchandise. The USPTO recognizes that matter used ornamentally can still indicate the celebrity, band, university, sports organization, or other entity that authorized the merchandise. Existing registrations and non-ornamental trademark use may help establish that connection.
Labels, hangtags, and qualifying product webpages can provide stronger specimens. Current USPTO rules permit photographs and webpages showing the mark as actually used with the goods, with URL and access or print date required for webpage specimens.
Trademark rights are only one part of an official merchandise program. Copyright can protect original artwork, photography, illustrations, and sufficiently creative package or merchandise graphics, while licensing agreements should preserve the trademark owner’s control over product quality.
Can a Celebrity Trademark Their Name for Clothing?
Yes, if the celebrity’s name functions as a trademark for the clothing.
A celebrity may already be known nationally or internationally through acting, music, professional sports, social media, television, or another field. That public recognition can be commercially valuable, but it does not automatically establish that the name functions as the source of shirts, jackets, hats, footwear, or other merchandise.
Federal trademark protection is connected to particular goods or services.
For example, a registration for a celebrity’s name covering personal appearances does not automatically add direct registration coverage for T-shirts. A celebrity launching an apparel line may therefore seek a separate registration identifying the clothing products.
The USPTO’s 2026 Name, Image, and Likeness guidance specifically recognizes names, nicknames, signatures, likeness-based designs, catchphrases, voices, and recurring gestures as potential trademark assets when they identify commercial source. It also provides athlete and celebrity examples involving clothing and other merchandise.
Does Being Famous Make a Celebrity Name a Clothing Trademark?
No.
Fame can support consumer recognition, but the trademark question is more specific.
Consumers must understand that the name identifies the source, sponsorship, or authorization of the clothing rather than merely identifying the person celebrated by the clothing.
Imagine a T-shirt with an actor’s name printed in enormous letters across the entire front.
A purchaser may buy the shirt because they are a fan of the actor. In that context, the name can function as the subject or decoration of the shirt.
Now imagine the same name used on a sewn-in neck label, hangtag, package, and official product page as the clothing brand.
That presentation is more likely to communicate that the celebrity-controlled business is the source of the merchandise.
The words are identical. The trademark significance can be different because of how consumers encounter them.
Why Does the USPTO Refuse Celebrity Merchandise as Ornamental?
Because decorative matter does not necessarily identify the source of the goods.
Current TMEP §1202.03 states that subject matter that is merely a decorative feature does not identify and distinguish the applicant’s goods and therefore does not function as a trademark. The rule applies to words, designs, slogans, and other ornamental matter.
Celebrity merchandise is particularly susceptible to this problem because consumers often expect shirts and accessories to display the names, faces, sayings, symbols, and imagery of people they admire.
The very thing that makes the merchandise appealing can also cause a specimen problem.
The USPTO must determine whether the display says, in effect, “this shirt is about this celebrity” or “this mark tells you who authorized and stands behind this clothing.”
Does the Size of a Celebrity Name on a Shirt Matter?
Yes.
The USPTO specifically considers size, location, and dominance when evaluating whether matter on clothing is merely ornamental.
Current TMEP guidance explains that a small, neat, discrete word or design, such as a small design over a pocket or breast area, may be more likely to create a trademark impression. A much larger version emblazoned across the front of a garment may instead be perceived as decoration.
Size is not the only factor, and small placement does not guarantee registration.
The USPTO also considers the overall commercial impression and practices within the relevant industry.
Still, placement should be considered before merchandise is manufactured rather than after an ornamental refusal is issued.
Can a Neck Label or Hangtag Show Trademark Use?
Yes.
Traditional apparel-brand placement can provide strong evidence that consumers encounter the celebrity mark as identifying source.
A celebrity name, logo, or merchandise brand placed on a neck label, sewn-in tag, hangtag, packaging, or another conventional trademark location may be perceived differently from the same matter displayed decoratively across the front of the garment.
A celebrity merchandise team should therefore consider trademark placement as part of product design.
There is no requirement that the main graphic disappear from the front of the shirt. The merchandise can contain both an ornamental fan-facing design and separate trademark use identifying the official source.
Can an Online Store Page Be a Trademark Specimen for Celebrity Merchandise?
Potentially.
A webpage can qualify as a specimen for goods when it shows the trademark as actually used in connection with the goods and satisfies the applicable display requirements.
Current TMEP guidance requires webpage specimens to include both the webpage URL and the date the page was accessed or printed.
For merchandise, the webpage should create a clear association between the trademark and the goods and function as a point-of-sale display rather than merely an advertisement.
The safest strategy is to review how the mark appears both on the physical product and in the online purchasing environment.
Can a Celebrity Use a Merchandise Mockup as a Trademark Specimen?
A mockup illustrating future use generally should not be treated as evidence of actual trademark use.
This problem frequently arises with celebrity launches because sophisticated renderings may be created long before products are commercially available.
A design team might produce digital images showing shirts, hats, jackets, or collectibles bearing the proposed mark. Those materials can be useful for licensing presentations, manufacturing instructions, investor materials, or marketing plans.
They do not necessarily prove actual use in commerce.
A use-based filing should rely on evidence reflecting genuine commercial use, not merely how the celebrity expects the merchandise to look when it eventually launches.
An intent-to-use application can provide a legitimate filing route when the merchandise is still in development.
Can a Celebrity File for Merchandise Before the Products Launch?
Yes.
A celebrity or celebrity-owned business with a bona fide intention to use the trademark in commerce may file an intent-to-use application before actual merchandise sales begin.
This can be useful while the brand is negotiating with apparel companies, approving prototypes, finalizing designs, arranging manufacturing, developing packaging, or preparing an official store.
The USPTO’s current NIL guidance specifically notes that Section 1(b) applications involve later documents and fees before registration.
The application should still be based on real commercial plans.
A celebrity should not file for every conceivable merchandise category merely because future licensing opportunities are possible.
What Is Secondary-Source Recognition for Celebrity Merchandise?
Secondary-source recognition is one of the most important concepts in celebrity and entertainment merchandising.
The USPTO recognizes that matter appearing decoratively on a product can also tell consumers who is responsible for, or has authorized, that merchandise.
For example, wording across a shirt may not identify the factory that manufactured the garment. It can nevertheless identify a celebrity, musical group, university, sports organization, or entertainment property that is the secondary source behind the authorized product.
Current TMEP §1202.03(c) expressly recognizes this doctrine.
For celebrity merchandise, the argument is often that consumers understand an official shirt bearing the celebrity’s established trademark as merchandise originating from or authorized by the celebrity’s brand.
What Evidence Can Prove Secondary-Source Recognition?
The USPTO recognizes several forms of secondary-source evidence.
One particularly useful form is ownership of a Principal Register registration for the same mark covering other goods or services based on qualifying use.
An applicant can also rely on non-ornamental use of the same mark with other goods or services, or certain qualifying pending use-based applications.
This creates an important portfolio strategy for celebrities.
Suppose an athlete already owns a Principal Register registration for their name covering personal appearances and endorsement services. The athlete later files for clothing, where the same name appears prominently on merchandise.
The existing source-identifying registration can potentially become relevant to the secondary-source analysis.
The athlete should still demonstrate the commercial relationship between the established personal brand and the authorized merchandise program.
Is Celebrity Fame Alone Enough to Prove Secondary Source?
No.
General fame and trademark secondary-source significance should not be treated as automatically equivalent.
The USPTO’s current ornamentation guidance requires evidence supporting trademark perception.
Existing federal registrations, established non-ornamental trademark use, licensing activity, advertising, and other evidence can potentially help establish that consumers understand the celebrity as the source behind authorized merchandise.
A statement such as “everyone knows who this celebrity is” does not by itself establish that the applied-for wording functions as a trademark for the particular merchandise.
Can an Intent-to-Use Application Establish Secondary Source?
Not by itself when no allegation of use has been filed.
Current TMEP §1202.03(c) specifically states that ownership of an intent-to-use application for which no allegation of use has been filed is insufficient to establish secondary source.
This is an important technical distinction.
A celebrity may have a pending ITU application for entertainment or endorsement services, but that unproven application alone should not be assumed to solve an ornamental refusal for apparel.
Evidence of actual source-identifying commercial use is significantly stronger.
Should Celebrities Register Their Name and Logo Separately?
Often, yes.
The name and logo can constitute separate trademarks.
A standard character application protects the wording itself without limiting the registration to one particular font, size, style, or color.
A special-form application protects the particular stylized or design presentation shown in the application.
The USPTO explains that standard-character registration generally provides the broadest protection for wording and that only one trademark is permitted per application. Separate applications are therefore needed when an applicant wants protection for materially different versions, such as the name itself, a standalone logo, and a combined name-and-design mark.
For a celebrity merchandise program, this can create a layered portfolio.
The standard-character name protects the wording. A separate signature design, monogram, likeness-based symbol, or merchandise logo can receive its own protection when commercially important.
What if the Celebrity Merchandise Logo Changes Frequently?
A standard-character name can sometimes provide greater long-term stability than an early design registration.
Celebrity merchandise graphics often change from season to season.
A tour may have one logo. A collaboration may use another. An apparel collection may be redesigned the following year.
If the celebrity’s name or nickname is the enduring element, registering the wording separately can preserve rights even when the visual presentation evolves.
A special-form application is more appropriate when the particular design itself is a valuable, recognizable element of the merchandise program.
Does a Celebrity Need Consent to Register Their Name on Merchandise?
The Section 2(c) consent rules can apply when a trademark identifies a particular living individual.
Current USPTO guidance states that written consent generally must be provided when another person’s full or partial name, nickname, pseudonym, signature, portrait, or likeness appears in the trademark. The consent must include a statement consenting to registration, the person’s signature, and the date.
The issue frequently arises because the applicant is not the celebrity individually.
Celebrity Brand LLC, a merchandise company, management entity, record label, or another business may own the trademark application.
The fact that the business has permission to sell licensed merchandise does not automatically mean the federal trademark consent requirements have been satisfied.
Does a Celebrity Need Consent When Filing Their Own Name?
Current USPTO public guidance states that when a person applies for a trademark containing their own name, image, or likeness, consent is presumed.
The application still must contain the appropriate identifying information required by USPTO filing procedures.
This should be distinguished from an application filed by a separate company.
An LLC owned entirely by the celebrity is still a separate legal entity. If the company applies to register matter identifying the living celebrity, the proper consent and identification should be addressed.
Who Should Own a Celebrity Merchandise Trademark?
The actual trademark owner should file the application.
The celebrity might personally own the trademark and license it to merchandise companies.
A celebrity-owned IP holding company might own the rights and license them to an operating company.
A merchandise company or apparel manufacturer might receive a limited trademark license without acquiring ownership.
Those arrangements can all work when structured properly.
Problems arise when the filing party is selected merely for convenience.
A manufacturer should not automatically file a celebrity’s name because it is producing the shirts. A retailer should not automatically own the trademark because it has an exclusive distribution agreement. A management agency does not automatically acquire trademark ownership by coordinating licenses.
The ownership structure should be deliberate and documented.
Can a Merchandise Licensee Own the Celebrity’s Trademark?
Not merely because it is licensed to use the mark.
The current TMEP explains that where a mark is used by a related company, the trademark owner is the party that controls the nature and quality of the goods sold under the mark. The owner is the proper party to apply for registration.
A celebrity might authorize an apparel company to manufacture and distribute official shirts while retaining ownership of the trademark.
The licensee’s sales can benefit the trademark owner when the relationship includes the required control.
That is very different from transferring the trademark itself.
Why Does Quality Control Matter in Celebrity Merchandise Licensing?
Because the celebrity’s trademark represents a promise about the authorized source and quality of the merchandise.
When another company manufactures or sells products under the celebrity’s trademark, the owner should maintain meaningful control over those goods.
A merchandise agreement might address materials, product design, sizing, packaging, manufacturing standards, approved artwork, retailers, territories, advertising, product samples, approval procedures, and post-termination inventory.
The TMEP confirms that controlled use by a related company can inure to the benefit of the trademark owner and that the party controlling the nature and quality of the goods is treated as the owner.
For a celebrity, quality control also has practical reputational importance.
Low-quality products sold under a famous name can damage the personal brand even when consumers understand that a third party physically manufactured the goods.
Is an Endorsement Agreement the Same as a Merchandise Trademark License?
No.
An endorsement agreement might authorize a company to state that the celebrity promotes or supports its product.
A merchandise trademark license can authorize a company to sell goods under the celebrity’s trademark.
Those are different rights.
A brand paying a celebrity to appear in a campaign should not automatically acquire the right to register the celebrity’s name, operate a clothing line under that name, or continue producing merchandise after the endorsement terminates.
The agreement should distinguish clearly among NIL permissions, advertising rights, endorsement services, trademark licenses, and ownership transfers.
What Should a Celebrity Merchandise License Cover?
The agreement should define exactly what the licensee may produce and how the mark may be used.
Relevant provisions can address approved product categories, designs, quality standards, manufacturers, packaging, territories, channels of sale, sublicense rights, approval procedures, advertising, ecommerce use, social media, counterfeit reporting, and termination.
Post-termination rights deserve particular attention.
The parties may allow the licensee to sell authorized existing inventory for a limited period while prohibiting continued manufacturing.
Without those restrictions, a former licensee can become a significant enforcement problem after the commercial relationship ends.
Can Copyright Protect Celebrity Merchandise Artwork?
Yes, when the merchandise contains sufficiently original visual authorship.
The U.S. Copyright Office lists logos, illustrations, graphic designs, photographs, labels, product packaging, textile designs, posters, and other visual material among works that can potentially fall within the visual-arts category.
Copyright and trademark protect different assets.
The celebrity’s name itself ordinarily belongs in the trademark analysis.
An original illustration of the celebrity, creative portrait treatment, detailed logo artwork, photograph, pattern, or graphic design may involve copyright protection.
Both rights may exist in the same merchandise item.
Who Owns Copyright in Celebrity Merchandise Artwork?
The celebrity or merchandise company should not assume that paying an artist automatically transfers copyright.
The initial copyright owner may be the photographer, illustrator, graphic designer, or another author unless work-made-for-hire or transfer rules produce a different result.
Section 204 of the Copyright Act provides that a transfer of copyright ownership generally is not valid unless it is documented in a writing signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or the owner’s authorized agent.
The merchandise agreement should therefore address trademark rights and copyright rights separately.
Owning the celebrity trademark does not automatically establish ownership of a photographer’s image used on the shirt.
Should Celebrity Merchandise Artwork Be Registered With the Copyright Office?
Registration can provide significant enforcement benefits.
The Copyright Office explains that original visual works can receive copyright protection from fixation, but registration creates a public record and provides additional legal advantages, including access to federal court for U.S. works and potential eligibility for certain remedies when registration timing requirements are met.
For a major merchandise collection, registration may be particularly valuable for distinctive illustrations, photographs, graphic artwork, or recurring merchandise designs that are likely to attract copying.
Copyright strategy should complement rather than replace trademark registration.
What Trademark Classes Cover Celebrity Merchandise?
Classification depends on the merchandise itself, not on the celebrity’s profession.
Clothing, footwear, and headwear generally involve Class 25.
Other merchandise may require different classes depending on the product. Bags, jewelry, printed posters, toys, collectibles, downloadable products, and other goods are not automatically included simply because they carry the same celebrity name.
A celebrity may also have service registrations covering entertainment, endorsements, appearances, retail services, or educational offerings.
Those service registrations can be strategically valuable but do not automatically become direct registrations for every physical merchandise category.
Should a Celebrity File in Every Merchandise Class?
No.
The better strategy is generally to protect products that are commercially significant or supported by genuine expansion plans.
Filing indiscriminately across numerous classes increases government fees and future maintenance responsibilities.
It can also create problems if a use-based application claims goods that are not actually in qualifying commercial use or an intent-to-use application includes products for which the applicant lacks a bona fide plan.
A celebrity merchandise portfolio should follow the actual licensing and retail strategy rather than every hypothetical product that could carry a famous name.
Can Official Celebrity Merchandise Use More Than One Trademark?
Yes.
One shirt may contain several separate brand assets.
For example, the celebrity’s legal name might appear on a neck label. A nickname might appear on the front. A signature logo might appear on the sleeve. A separate product-line name might identify the entire merchandise collection.
Those elements do not automatically become one trademark.
The USPTO permits only one trademark per application, and materially different versions generally require separate filings.
This makes portfolio prioritization important.
The celebrity should determine which identifiers consumers rely on most strongly to distinguish official merchandise from unauthorized products.
Can Unauthorized Celebrity Merchandise Be Trademark Infringement?
Potentially.
Trademark infringement can arise when unauthorized use of a protected name, logo, or other mark is likely to confuse consumers concerning the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or approval of the goods.
Celebrity merchandise presents a particularly strong affiliation issue because purchasers may reasonably care whether an item is official, licensed, or authorized.
The analysis remains fact-specific.
The mere appearance of someone’s name or image on a product does not automatically resolve every trademark question. Expressive use, commentary, parody, nominative reference, and other circumstances can require separate analysis.
Enforcement should focus on uses that actually implicate protectable rights.
Can Unauthorized Merchandise Also Infringe Copyright?
Yes.
A seller might avoid using the celebrity’s registered word mark but reproduce an official photograph, illustration, graphic, or other copyrighted merchandise artwork.
In that situation, copyright may provide an independent enforcement theory.
A single unauthorized product could potentially raise both trademark and copyright issues if it copies the official brand identifier and the underlying creative artwork.
The claims should be identified separately rather than describing every form of copying simply as “trademark infringement.”
What Should a Celebrity Brand Save Before Reporting Counterfeit Merchandise?
The brand should preserve the evidence before contacting the seller.
Online merchandise listings can disappear or change quickly.
Useful evidence can include screenshots showing the entire listing, URL, date, seller identity, product name, photographs, price, ordering information, reviews, advertisements, and social media posts.
Purchasing a sample may preserve additional information about the actual product, packaging, labels, shipping records, manufacturer, and seller.
The celebrity brand should also organize its own evidence, including registrations, license agreements, official product labels, authorized merchandise photographs, copyright assignments, advertising, and relevant first-use records.
Should Celebrity Brands Use Marketplace Trademark Complaints?
Marketplace complaint procedures can be useful when the accused activity fits the platform’s rules.
The right asserted should match the conduct.
A seller using a confusingly similar celebrity trademark on supposed official merchandise may present a trademark issue.
A seller reproducing an original photograph may present a copyright issue.
A fake account pretending to be the celebrity’s official store may implicate impersonation policies.
Using the wrong complaint category can delay enforcement and obscure the strongest claim.
Platform enforcement should also be treated as only one layer of protection because removing one listing may not stop the seller from moving to another marketplace or account.
Can CBP Stop Imported Counterfeit Celebrity Merchandise?
Potentially, when eligible rights have been federally registered and recorded with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
CBP’s current guidance explains that the agency can detain, seize, forfeit, and ultimately destroy certain imported merchandise bearing infringing trademarks or copyrights when the underlying rights have been registered with the USPTO or Copyright Office and recorded with CBP.
For trademarks, CBP requires a qualifying Principal Register registration for recordation. Its 2026 guidance lists a $190 e-Recordation fee per International Class of goods for a trademark.
This can be particularly useful for celebrity merchandise programs where unauthorized apparel, accessories, collectibles, or related products are being manufactured abroad and imported into the United States.
CBP recordation does not replace private enforcement. It adds border protection to the broader trademark and anti-counterfeiting strategy.
What Information Can a Celebrity Brand Give CBP?
Rights holders can help CBP distinguish legitimate merchandise from counterfeits.
CBP specifically encourages recordation holders to provide information about genuine products and to educate enforcement personnel concerning distinguishing characteristics.
For celebrity merchandise, that can include information concerning approved licensees, authorized manufacturers, countries of production, product designs, labels, packaging, and other authentication details.
A well-maintained licensing program can make this information easier to organize.
Does Federal Registration Stop the USPTO From Allowing Unauthorized Merchandise?
No.
The USPTO registers trademarks. It does not continuously police online marketplaces, retailers, social media, tour vendors, or imported merchandise on behalf of trademark owners.
The celebrity or its brand-management team remains responsible for monitoring commercial use and deciding when enforcement is necessary.
Monitoring may include federal trademark filings, ecommerce platforms, social media, domains, print-on-demand sites, unauthorized storefronts, physical retailers, and imports.
How Can AI Affect Celebrity Merchandise Enforcement?
AI can make unauthorized celebrity branding easier to produce at scale.
The USPTO’s 2026 NIL guidance specifically highlights impersonation risks and recommends federal registration, monitoring social media and marketplaces, preserving evidence of commercial use, and using contracts that address AI-generated depictions and digital replicas.
For merchandise, an unauthorized seller could use an AI-generated likeness rather than an existing photograph.
That change does not automatically eliminate all legal concerns.
Trademark, false-endorsement, NIL, right-of-publicity, platform, and other rules may become relevant depending on the specific presentation.
This area should be analyzed according to the actual use rather than assuming every AI-generated image creates the same claim.
How Long Does a Celebrity Merchandise Trademark Registration Last?
A federal trademark registration can remain active indefinitely if the mark remains in qualifying use and the required maintenance filings are submitted.
For ordinary registrations not based on the Madrid Protocol, the USPTO requires a Section 8 Declaration of Use or Excusable Nonuse between the fifth and sixth years after registration.
Between the ninth and tenth years, the owner generally files a combined Section 8 declaration and Section 9 renewal. Additional renewals are then due during successive ten-year periods.
A celebrity’s merchandise portfolio should also be cleaned up as business activity changes.
The owner should not continue claiming active trademark use for product categories that have been permanently discontinued.
Should Celebrity Merchandise Portfolios Be Reviewed Regularly?
Yes.
Celebrity brands can evolve rapidly.
One year may focus on tour shirts and hats. The next may involve cosmetics, accessories, limited-edition collectibles, footwear, collaborations, or a direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand.
A regular portfolio review can determine whether existing registrations still match the actual merchandise program, whether newly valuable names or designs deserve protection, whether licenses have expired, and whether ownership records remain accurate.
The goal should not simply be to accumulate registrations.
The portfolio should accurately reflect the brand assets and merchandise categories that matter commercially.
Frequently Asked Questions About Celebrity Merchandise Trademarks
Can a celebrity trademark their merchandise?
A celebrity can register trademarks used with merchandise when the name, nickname, logo, signature, catchphrase, or other identifier functions as a source indicator for those goods.
Is a celebrity’s name automatically protected on T-shirts?
No. Public recognition does not automatically establish trademark use for apparel. The USPTO can refuse a name displayed merely as decoration.
Why does the USPTO reject celebrity names across the front of shirts?
Large, dominant wording across clothing may be perceived as ornamental rather than as the source of the garment. Size, location, commercial impression, and industry practices are relevant.
Can a neck label show trademark use?
Yes. Traditional source-identifying uses such as labels, hangtags, packaging, and other discrete placements can provide stronger trademark evidence than purely decorative displays.
Can an ecommerce page be a specimen?
Potentially. A qualifying webpage must show actual use with the goods and include the required URL and access or print date.
What is secondary-source recognition?
Secondary-source recognition means consumers understand that ornamental matter also identifies another source that authorized or stands behind the merchandise, such as a celebrity, band, university, or sports organization.
Is celebrity fame enough to prove secondary source?
Not automatically. The USPTO looks for evidence of source-identifying recognition, which can include existing registrations, non-ornamental use, and other qualifying evidence.
Can a celebrity file for clothing before selling it?
Yes. A bona fide intent-to-use filing may allow the trademark process to begin before actual merchandise sales, with later use requirements before registration.
Should a celebrity register their name and logo separately?
Often. A standard-character name and a distinctive logo protect different presentations, and the USPTO allows only one trademark per application.
Does an LLC need the celebrity’s consent to register their name?
When the mark identifies a particular living individual, current USPTO rules generally require the appropriate living-individual statement and written consent.
Can an apparel company own the celebrity trademark because it manufactures the merchandise?
Not automatically. Manufacturing or licensing rights are different from ownership. Trademark ownership generally rests with the party controlling the nature and quality of the branded goods.
Can copyright protect artwork on celebrity merchandise?
Yes. Original photographs, illustrations, graphics, labels, logos, and other sufficiently creative visual works can potentially receive copyright protection.
Does paying a designer automatically transfer copyright?
No. A transfer of copyright ownership generally must be documented in a signed writing.
Can Customs stop counterfeit celebrity shirts from entering the United States?
Potentially. Eligible trademark and copyright registrations can be recorded with CBP for border enforcement against qualifying infringing imports.
Final Thoughts
Can celebrities trademark merchandise and apparel? Yes, but trademark protection requires more than placing a famous person’s name on a product.
The trademark must function as a source identifier for the goods.
That issue is particularly important for apparel because names, signatures, catchphrases, and images displayed prominently across clothing can be perceived as decoration rather than trademarks. Current USPTO guidance directs examining attorneys to consider factors including commercial impression, size, location, dominance, and relevant trade practices.
Celebrity brands can often strengthen their position by using the mark in conventional trademark locations such as labels, hangtags, and packaging and by maintaining appropriate point-of-sale use online.
Established celebrity brands may also benefit from the secondary-source doctrine. Existing source-identifying registrations and genuine non-ornamental commercial use can help demonstrate that consumers understand the celebrity or celebrity-controlled business as the source behind authorized merchandise.
The legal strategy should extend beyond the trademark application.
Licensing agreements should preserve ownership and quality control. Original merchandise artwork and photography should be reviewed for copyright ownership. Marketplace enforcement should distinguish among trademark, copyright, counterfeit, and impersonation claims. Eligible registrations may also be recorded with CBP when imported counterfeit merchandise is a significant concern.
For a celebrity merchandise program, the strongest portfolio is not simply a list of famous names and logos.
It is a coordinated system that makes it legally and commercially clear which products are official, who owns the underlying rights, which companies are authorized to produce them, and how consumers can distinguish genuine merchandise from unauthorized goods.
Primary Authorities and Sources
The current Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure is the May 2026 edition, last updated by the USPTO on May 29, 2026.
TMEP §1202.03 governs ornamentation and explains when decorative matter on apparel fails to function as a trademark, when size and placement affect consumer perception, and how secondary-source significance can support registration.
The USPTO’s Name, Image, and Likeness guidance, published March 26, 2026 and updated August 21, 2026, addresses federal trademark protection for names, nicknames, signatures, likeness-based designs, catchphrases, voices, gestures, endorsements, and personal appearances, as well as AI-related impersonation risks.
Current USPTO drawings and specimens guidance explains the difference between standard-character and special-form marks, confirms that one trademark is permitted per application, and describes the different scope of protection associated with each filing type.
Current USPTO living-person guidance and TMEP §813 address written consent when a trademark identifies a particular living individual.
TMEP §1201.01 addresses controlled use by related companies and provides that the trademark owner is the party controlling the nature and quality of goods sold under the mark.
The U.S. Copyright Office’s visual-arts guidance identifies original photographs, illustrations, logos, labels, graphic designs, and product packaging as categories that may contain protectable visual authorship.
17 U.S.C. §204 generally requires a copyright ownership transfer to be documented in a writing signed by the owner or authorized agent.
Current U.S. Customs and Border Protection e-Recordation guidance explains how qualifying Principal Register trademarks and copyright registrations can be recorded for border enforcement against infringing imports.
About the Author
Abraham Cohn is Managing Partner of Cohn Legal, PLLC and heads the firm’s Intellectual Property and Transactional Group. His practice includes intellectual property protection, trademark prosecution, licensing, brand and persona-rights counseling, and commercial agreements involving the development, manufacture, distribution, and transfer of intellectual property. He is admitted in New York and Massachusetts.