Q: This area isn't even remotely large enough for my question refer to more details section below please.
I am from Kansas. I am going to start a citizen journalism youtube channel. Do I need to copyright or trademark the name 'The Citizen journalist'. I was told that if commerce happened under the name that it is auto trademarked to me, is this true? If commerce under the name does lock it in for me, would a donation to my youtube page via paypal or patreon count as commerce activity or does there need to be a give and take, like a shirt or bumper sticker sold? Thank you for your time in advance.
A: You are talking about the difference between a common law trademark and a registered trademark. Different things with different rights and requirements. Here is a helpful resource: https://www.upcounsel.com/common-law-trademark
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