Copyrighting a Name

Question
Hello, I was doing some research about trying to copyright my wrestling name, as I don't want any worries of having anyone using it, whether a genuine mistake or otherwise and try to exploit the fact I haven't got rights to it.

The thing is, I cannot find anything on how to put copyrights on to a wrestling name, i've probably already read the answer without knowing it. But I was unsure as to how TNA/WWE do it, as I would like to follow suit in copyrighting, I sure hope you can help!

Jamie.

Answer
Hi Jamie.  Thanks for the question.

I don't really know how to go about copyrighting a name legally. I've never tried to copyright anything, and the only thing I know for sure is you can't copyright your given name, meaning in your case Jamie and whatever your last name is.

I did a simple Google search of copyrighting a name, and I got a ton of results, so I would suggest you do that.  It looked like there were plenty of sites where you can just fill out your information and do it online, although I'm sure there is a fee involved.

If you have a good idea for a wrestling name, there is nothing wrong with copyrighting it.  However, if you are hoping to wrestle for a big time promotion like WWE or TNA, keep in mind that they usually are the ones that pick out the names and gimmicks.  Even if they liked your idea, they probably wouldn't use the exact name you copyrighted, because they wouldn't have any control over it.  Vince McMahon likes to have control over his wrestlers, which is why when a lot of wrestlers leave WWE, they usually aren't allowed to use any gimmicked names that they used in WWE.  For instance, Scott Hall couldn't use Razor Ramon when he left for WCW.

Thanks again for the question.  Let me know if you have anything else.

Have a great day!

Dave