You cannot copyright a t-shirt slogan. Federal copyright law does not protect short phrases, and the U.S. Copyright Office will refuse to register one. The working path is trademark law, and it comes with a catch most first-time applicants don’t see coming: if the slogan is printed large across the front of the shirt, the USPTO will likely reject the application because that reads as decoration, not as a brand name. Protecting a slogan on apparel means understanding both why copyright fails and how to structure your trademark use so it succeeds.
Why Copyright Doesn’t Cover Slogans
Copyright protects original creative works fixed in some lasting form, covering categories like books, music, visual art, and film.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 U.S. Code 102 – Subject Matter of Copyright: In General A slogan on a shirt doesn’t qualify. The Copyright Office regulation at 37 CFR 202.1 specifically lists “words and short phrases such as names, titles, and slogans” as material it will not register.2eCFR. 37 CFR 202.1 – Material Not Subject to Copyright
Circular 33 puts it plainly: short phrases “are uncopyrightable because they contain an insufficient amount of authorship,” and the Office “will not register individual words or brief combinations of words, even if the word or short phrase is novel, distinctive, or lends itself to a play on words.”3U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 33 – Works Not Protected by Copyright Clever wordplay doesn’t change the analysis. If it’s short, it’s out. Filing a copyright application on a t-shirt slogan wastes the fee.
Use Trademark Law Instead
A trademark is any word, phrase, symbol, or design that tells consumers who makes a product.4United States Patent and Trademark Office. What Is a Trademark The legal test isn’t whether the phrase is creative. It’s whether consumers see the phrase and associate it with one source of goods.
That distinction is what makes apparel tricky. A slogan on a shirt can be the decorative message customers want to wear and, at the same time, a brand identifier. The USPTO draws a hard line between those two roles, and how you display the slogan on your actual products decides which side you land on.
The Ornamental Refusal Trap
Here is the part almost no one anticipates. When a slogan is printed large across the front of a t-shirt, the USPTO treats it as ornamentation, not branding. The examining attorney will issue what’s called an “ornamental refusal,” rejecting the application because the slogan doesn’t function as a trademark in the way you’ve displayed it.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ornamental Refusal and How to Overcome This Refusal
The reasoning is practical. Someone who sees a phrase splashed across the chest of a shirt reads it as a message, not as an indicator of who manufactured the garment. The USPTO states directly that “everyday expressions and symbols that commonly adorn products are normally not perceived as identifying the source of the goods,” and whether a mark functions as a source identifier depends on its size, location, and how dominant it appears on the product.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ornamental Refusal and How to Overcome This Refusal
To get around this, your specimen needs to show the slogan used the way a brand name typically appears on clothing: on a hang tag, on a sewn-in neck label, as a small chest logo, or on the product listing page of your website. Discrete placement on the pocket or breast area reads as branding. A giant front print reads as decoration.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ornamental Refusal and How to Overcome This Refusal
There’s also a “secondary source” workaround. If you already sell other products under the same slogan and have an existing registration (or a pending use-based application) showing the slogan used in a non-ornamental way for those other goods, you can submit that as evidence that consumers already associate the slogan with your brand.6United States Patent and Trademark Office. How to Establish Use as an Indicator of Secondary Source Bands, podcasters, and content creators often qualify this way because they already sell branded merchandise alongside a primary product.
Search Before You File
Before spending money on an application, check whether someone else already owns a similar mark for similar goods. The USPTO will refuse your application if your slogan creates a “likelihood of confusion” with an existing registration. Marks don’t need to be identical to conflict. If two slogans look alike, sound alike, or mean roughly the same thing, and both appear on clothing, that’s usually enough for a refusal.
Start with the USPTO’s free Trademark Search system at tmsearch.uspto.gov.7United States Patent and Trademark Office. Search Our Trademark Database Search the exact slogan, individual words within it, and phonetic variations. Look at Class 25 (clothing) and related classes. A matching phrase registered for shoes or hats blocks you as much as one registered for t-shirts, because all three sit in the same class.
Pick a Filing Basis
The application asks you to declare where you are in actually using the slogan commercially. Two options cover most t-shirt sellers.
If you are already selling shirts with the slogan, file under Section 1(a), “use in commerce.” You’ll provide the date you first used the mark anywhere, the date you first used it in interstate or international commerce, and a specimen showing that use.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1051 – Application for Registration; Verification
If you haven’t started selling yet but intend to, file under Section 1(b), the “intent-to-use” basis. No specimen is required at filing, but you’ll later submit a Statement of Use along with a $150 per-class fee once you begin selling.9United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule The advantage: your filing date sets your priority. If someone else files for a similar mark after you do, your earlier date wins.
What the Application Needs
Applications are filed through the USPTO’s online Trademark Center.10United States Patent and Trademark Office. Apply Online Have this information ready:
- The slogan itself, filed as a “standard character” mark, which protects the words regardless of font, size, or color.11United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Examples
- Owner information: the full legal name and address of the mark’s owner. If an LLC or corporation runs the business, list the entity, not yourself.
- Goods classification: t-shirts fall in International Class 25, which covers clothing, footwear, and headwear. Pick a description from the USPTO’s Trademark ID Manual to avoid a surcharge.12World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 25
- Specimen: real-world evidence showing how the slogan appears with the goods. A hang tag photo, a sewn-in label, or a website product page all work. A front-print photo will likely trigger the ornamental refusal.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. Specimens
- Dates of first use, if you’re filing under Section 1(a).8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1051 – Application for Registration; Verification
The base filing fee is $350 per class when you use a pre-approved description from the Trademark ID Manual. Writing your own custom description bumps that to $550 per class because of a $200 surcharge.14United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information For most t-shirt businesses filing in Class 25 only, the government fee is $350. Attorney fees for a clearance search and application filing typically add another $1,000 to $2,000.
What Happens After You File
Once you submit and pay, the USPTO assigns a serial number for tracking. An examining attorney then reviews the application, checking for conflicts with existing marks, correct classification, and whether the specimen shows genuine trademark use. As of early 2026, the average wait for that first review is about 4.5 months.15United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Processing Wait Times
If the examiner finds problems, you’ll get an “office action” explaining them. Ornamental refusals are among the most common for apparel. You generally have six months to respond. If the application is approved, the mark publishes in the USPTO’s Official Gazette, and other trademark owners have 30 days to oppose.16United States Patent and Trademark Office. Opposition Period and Extensions of Time to Oppose
If no opposition is filed and the application is use-based, the USPTO issues the registration certificate. The average total time from filing to registration or abandonment is about 10.1 months.15United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Processing Wait Times Intent-to-use applications take longer because the Statement of Use has to be filed before the registration issues.
TM Versus ®
You can put “TM” next to your slogan at any time. No registration, no application, no permission required. It simply signals that you’re claiming the phrase as a trademark.
The ® symbol is different. You may use it only after the USPTO has actually issued your registration. Using it earlier, including while an application is pending, can jeopardize the application and may amount to fraudulent advertising. While you wait, stick with TM.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1111 – Notice of Registration; Display With Mark; Recovery of Profits and Damages in Infringement Suit
Once you’re entitled to use ®, use it. Under federal law, if you don’t display the registration notice and later sue for infringement, you cannot recover profits or damages unless you prove the infringer had actual notice of your registration.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1111 – Notice of Registration; Display With Mark; Recovery of Profits and Damages in Infringement Suit
Keeping the Registration Alive
A trademark registration is not permanent by itself. You have to file maintenance documents on a set schedule, or the USPTO cancels the registration:
- Between years 5 and 6, file a Declaration of Use (Section 8) proving you’re still using the mark. You can also file an optional Declaration of Incontestability (Section 15) at this stage, which strengthens your legal position.
- Between years 9 and 10, file a combined Declaration of Use and Application for Renewal (Sections 8 and 9).
- Every 10 years after that, file the same combined Sections 8 and 9 renewal.18United States Patent and Trademark Office. Keeping Your Registration Alive
Miss a deadline and the registration dies. The USPTO offers a six-month grace period after each due date, but it carries an additional late fee. Set calendar reminders years in advance. You’ll have spent months and hundreds of dollars getting the registration; a lapsed deadline throws that away.