Amelia [00:00:04] [Twinkling, airy music begins to play, overlapping with the introduction] Welcome to The Softer Cast, a podcast for small business owners and creatives who want tender podcast advice without any tech bro bullshit.

Amelia [00:00:12] I'm Amelia Hruby and I'm the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for women and non-binary entrepreneurs. On this show, I answer your questions about podcasting.

Amelia [00:00:23] Things like:

Amelia [00:00:23] Should I put my show on YouTube?

Amelia [00:00:25] Can I just record it on Zoom?

Amelia [00:00:26] How much do editors really cost?

Amelia [00:00:29] And how many downloads should my podcast be getting?

Amelia [00:00:32] Yeah, I'll even answer that question. Every episode of The Softer Cast is really practical, a little magical, and less than 10 minutes long. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show and share it with your podcast bestie. Then, head to the show notes to check out our free resources.

Amelia [00:00:51] [Intro music quiets but continues to play] No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you. Join us on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:01:04] Hello and welcome to The Softer Cast, [intro music fades out] a podcast for small business owners and creatives who want tender podcast advice without any tech bro bullshit.

Amelia [00:01:13] I'm Amelia Hruby and I'm the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for women and non-binary entrepreneurs and creatives. I'm the host of this podcast, and on this show, I answer your questions about podcasting.

Amelia [00:01:26] So, once a month we put up a new episode where I dive deep into my thoughts and advice on a question that comes from one of our clients, community members, or lovely listeners like you. Thanks for being here.

Amelia [00:01:38] So, today's question is one that I have gotten many times. It comes up way more than you think that it might. Or if you're listening, maybe it's come up for you so you're not surprised. But the question is:

Amelia [00:01:50] What do I do if another podcast has the name that I want? Like, what if I have dreamt up this perfect podcast name, I'm super excited, and then I go look for it and I realize there's already a podcast called that or a bunch of podcasts called that.

Amelia [00:02:03] A similar version of this question would be:

Amelia [00:02:05] What can I do if another podcast takes my name, right? Like, I've already got a podcast and then there's a new one out there that has the same name as me, or, like, starts with my podcast name.

Amelia [00:02:18] Tough stuff, right? Hard questions. So, to answer this question I think there are a couple— at least two levels of the podcast name conversation.

Amelia [00:02:27] So, the first is legal and the second is etiquette. Now, as I dive into this, I want to be clear that I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice [laughs].

Amelia [00:02:36] This is stuff I've picked up from reading the Internet, chatting with some, like, really smart lawyer or lawyer-adjacent friends and kind of figuring it out that way.

Amelia [00:02:46] So, if you really want legal advice on this, go talk to a lawyer. Don't listen to this episode [laughs] but if you'd like advice based on what I've seen in the space, let's dive in.

Amelia [00:02:56] So, on the legal side of the podcast naming question— checking for a trademark is the most important thing. So, podcast names are not copyrighted. Under U.S. copyright, names are not copyrightable. So, they don't qualify under that, sort of, like, they named it, so it has a, like, de facto copyright with it. They don't. No one does your— yourself included if you have a podcast.

Amelia [00:03:20] So, the way that you would protect a podcast name would be through a trademark. So, if you're thinking of a podcast name, any time, you should go search for a trademark under that name.

Amelia [00:03:29] Now, if you search for your name and there is a trademark on it, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't use it because that trademark might be for something totally different, like, not at all inclusive of a podcast, right?

Amelia [00:03:41] Maybe you want to have a podcast that's called, like, I don't know, Sunny Lives, [laughs], I think I came up with that because it's very gray out today. But, you know, you want a podcast called, Sunny Living Space, right? And you go look for it and Sunny Living Space already has a trademark, but that trademark is for an interior design company and interior design services. You could technically still, most likely, create a podcast under Sunny Day Lives [laughs]— whatever I said— Sunny Days Living— as long as it was not in the interior design space.

Amelia [00:04:17] So, a trademark is like— its set for a specific area or industry or type of thing. And so, you should look at the trademarks and see if they would— if you would be infringing on a trademark by using that name.

Amelia [00:04:30] If you use a trademarked name, you could— there could be— it could lead to legal action against you. So, you just want to be really careful that you're not doing that. And I do see this often, like, in the coaching space or the business space or the fitness space where people will come up with a podcast name and then we'll go look for a trademark and it will turn out that somebody has a trademark for that in fitness adjacent topics. Now, it may not be in a fitness podcast, so you have like some wiggle room.

Amelia [00:04:58] But for me, I just like to steer clear. I am never trying to [laughs] court legal action. I'd rather just pick another name. That said, if someone has taken your podcast name and you've already trademarked it and they're in your space, like, go for it. They should eject. They should not be infringing on your trademark.

Amelia [00:05:16] And this is also a good point to plug where if you really want to protect your podcast name, you should trademark it.

Amelia [00:05:21] Okay, so that's the legal side of things. Trademarks, trademarks, trademarks. Go talk to a lawyer about trademarks.

Amelia [00:05:27] Then we get to the etiquette side of things. So, what if you look for a name, there's no trademarks, but there is another podcast that already has that name, or many other podcasts that already have that name?

Amelia [00:05:37] The things here are less clear cut which why— which is why I say it's kind of about etiquette. I don't even think there are clear podcast best practices that I've ever seen. Like, no one's created them about naming.

Amelia [00:05:49] So, I would say from the get go, we don't want to copy other people's podcast names. So, if you have a podcast and it— like if you have a name idea and there's another show with that name that is actively publishing, releasing episodes, especially if it's in a related space to you, I would not use that name. I would find a different name.

Amelia [00:06:11] Now, sometimes those names are really broad or just like, you know, cultural phrases that lots of people use or there's a lot of podcasts with that name already. If that's the case, I think you have a little more leeway to go ahead and use it but you are setting yourself up for some challenges just with searchability.

Amelia [00:06:31] So, I'll use myself as an example. I have another podcast called Off the Grid.

Amelia [00:06:37] There are a lot of podcasts, believe it or not, called Off the Grid [laughs]. Most of them have to do with, like, living off of the societal grid and, you know, exiting our infrastructure, you know, living off the grid, like, in the forest or off the grid, like, prepping for the apocalypse, etc.

Amelia [00:06:54] My podcast is about leaving social media. So, you know, Off the Grid is, kind of, a tongue-in-cheek name. I was thinking of, like, the Instagram grid [laughs]— when I left Instagram.

Amelia [00:07:05] And so, when I looked at all these other podcasts, there were many that had the name Off the Grid, but none of them were about social media. So, I made sure that I put social media in the title for my show, and now it's called Off the Grid: Leaving Social Media Without Losing All Your Clients.

Amelia [00:07:20] And that way I've— like have the cheeky name, but also, I don't struggle with like— people can still find the show when they search for it.

Amelia [00:07:28] Now, if— that's just one example of, kind of, a space where, okay other people have this name, but I use it anyway.

Amelia [00:07:37] Again, if there's only one other podcast with that name and it's an active show, I think that's where you get— where you might struggle more with that show being like, "Well, you've copied us."

Amelia [00:07:50] Again, copying is not legally a problem unless they've trademarked it. But I think etiquette-wise, we try to avoid copying other people's podcast names.

Amelia [00:08:01] So, you know, if you're a— if you're a business coach and you really want to call your podcast— Radical Lessons for Business Owners and you look it up and there is another podcast called Radical Lessons for Business Owners [laughs]. I would not call your show that. Like, that does feel directly like copying the name of another show.

Amelia [00:08:20] And, I would say, I would probably make that choice whether it is an active show or not.

Amelia [00:08:26] Now, there are just so many scenarios that can come up in all of this. So, I've come up with a few questions you can, kind of, use to screen this sort of question of like, am I copying or not? Is this, like, within the bounds of being, like, polite and considerate about other shows or not?

Amelia [00:08:42] So, here's the list of questions:

Amelia [00:08:45] Is the podcast on Apple and/or Spotify? Like, is it actually distributed through these major podcast platforms?

Amelia [00:08:53] When did that po— podcast publish their last episode?

Amelia [00:08:56] How many episodes have they published?

Amelia [00:08:59] Is the podcast associated with a network? If they're on a network, they're much more likely to have a trademarked show name and to have enough, like, backing to, like, begin legal action. So, I'd definitely avoid it if they're on a network [laughs].

Amelia [00:09:16] Is the podcast associated with a business or just with, like, an individual person?

Amelia [00:09:20] Does the podcast have a website?

Amelia [00:09:21] Is the podcast on your topic or a different topic?

Amelia [00:09:25] And how would you feel about any overlap in, like, impressions or audience if, you know, another podcast with that name grows a really big audience and now your show is associated with that just through the same name.

Amelia [00:09:37] So, those are a few questions I ask when I have that scenario of, like, I want to launch a show— a podcast with this name, but there's already one or more shows with that name out there. Again, it gets kind of complicated so, really, I think the best advice is just steer clear.

Amelia [00:09:55] Like, I would say, if there is already a show or multiple shows with that out there, then I would pick a different name for your show.

Amelia [00:10:04] The other route I have not mentioned is you can always reach out to that person and ask them about it. So most— hope— you know, hopefully that podcast will have a website or if you listen to an episode, you can learn a way to contact them or you can find contact information from their RSS feed and you can reach out and ask, especially if the show is inactive and say, "Hey, you haven't been published in two years, I want to launch a new podcast. Can I— like, how would you feel about me using this name?"

Amelia [00:10:32] Again, you might get a, "Yes. Like, great, cool. Yeah. I don't think about this at all anymore. Go for it." [Laughs lightly] If they say no, we get back into that legal versus etiquette.

Amelia [00:10:42] Like, unless they have a trademark, there's probably not legal grounds that you can't use the show, but— or use the name. But you open yourself up to other things if, you know, they say, "No" and then you, you know, if they say, "No," I think you should probably not do it because then you open yourself up to issues if they decide to proceed with legal action.

Amelia [00:11:02] Or if they file a trademark after you ask them about it, and then, you know, their trademark points to that they've been using this name for X number of years and they could get that trademark— which in the future— which would then, you know, not allow you to use the show name because if you try to contest it, they could show they've used it longer than you, etc., etc., at least in my layperson's understanding of trademarks.

Amelia [00:11:22] So, [laughs heartily] this episode is 10 minutes of a really roundabout way of saying. There are a lot of different considerations if you want to use a podcast name that has an existing show out there but I think the foolproof thing to do is just pick another name.

Amelia [00:11:41] And what do you do if you have a podcast name and somebody copies it? [Laughs lightly] Well, you know, I think that depends on you and your show and your boundaries. If it's trademarked, you could send them a cease and desist and probably should. You went to all the effort to get that trademark, like, claim it, babe. Get that— get that legal action in there.

Amelia [00:12:01] If it's not, you can reach out to them about it. You can have your lawyer reach out to them about it. You can reach out to them about it personally. You know, there are different ways to address that, and I would definitely recommend getting legal advice for that situation.

Amelia [00:12:14] And I will say again, I am not a lawyer. I do not offer legal advice. And nothing in this episode is legal advice [laughs].

Amelia [00:12:23] Okay, friends, if you have questions about naming your podcast, of course you can reach out to Softer Sounds.

Amelia [00:12:28] If you're launching, we have a free Launch Toolkit linked in the show notes. I would love to support you with our podcast launch package or with a podcast planning session, or we could dive into [music begins to play, overlapping with the episode] more thoughts on naming and launching and bringing your show to life.

Amelia [00:12:44] For now, I'm wrapping up this episode and I'll be back in your earbuds next month. Thanks for tuning in and joining me on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:12:58] Thanks so much for listening to The Softer Cast. If you enjoyed this episode, please send it to your podcast bestie. And after you do that, go ahead and drop us five stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Amelia [00:13:10] If you'd like to submit a question, head to speakpipe.com/softercast to record a message or email us at hi@softersounds.studio.

Amelia [00:13:19] And last but not least, we made some awesome free things for you. Head to the show notes to download our free Podcast Launch Toolkit or our 3-step Podcast Audit.

Amelia [00:13:30] No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you. Thanks again for tuning in and joining us on the softer side of podcasting [twinkly, airy music closes out the show].