Your name is the brand. Protect it like one.
Clients hire you, then they buy the program, the course and the membership. Each of those has a name, and each name can be claimed by someone else first.
The clock The USPTO takes about 4 months just to first look at a new application. Your filing date holds your place in line.
Seed is a clearance search and a written opinion from the attorney, in under two weeks. Not sure which package fits? Email us and we’ll point you to the right one. Want advice on your specific situation? Book a paid consultation. (opens in a new tab)
Your program name travels further than you do.
Coaching names spread through podcasts, posts and client referrals long before anyone files anything. That reach is exactly why a conflict hurts.
- 01
Your own name has rules.
A mark that is primarily just a surname can be refused until it has built up recognition, and a name that identifies a living person needs that person’s written consent on file.
- 02
Descriptive names are weak.
Names that only describe the result, like a confidence program called Confidence Coaching, are refused as merely descriptive or end up on the weaker Supplemental Register.
- 03
Platforms don’t clear names.
Course platforms and podcast directories publish what you upload without checking trademarks. Problems show up later, as a complaint or a takedown.
- 04
Name the method. You can’t own it.
You can register the name of your framework. Trademark law does not stop anyone from teaching similar ideas, and copyright covers your materials and recordings, not the method itself.
One attorney, start to finish.
Never a paralegal, never a chatbot. I am Gabrielle Maria Crawford, Esq., founder of Citrus Legal. I run your search myself, write the opinion myself, and take every call myself.
Admitted to The Florida Bar. Juris Doctor, University of Miami School of Law. Trademarks nationwide under federal law; business contracts in Florida. Based in St. Pete.
Why choose Citrus?
Because the attorney you talk to is the attorney doing the work, on every email, every call and every filing. Yes, I use AI. It’s a tool that helps me work faster, and it never makes the call on your name. I do.
Some low-cost services don’t name the attorney who files for you, and you may never speak to one. Big firms come with big names and hourly bills. With Citrus, you get the personal touch: one attorney who knows your file, a flat fee agreed in writing before any work starts, and real, honest feedback on your name, even when it isn’t what you hoped to hear.
Coaching: Class 41. Consulting: Class 35.
A trademark covers a name for specific goods or services, sorted into numbered classes, and the USPTO fee is charged per class. Pick the classes for what you actually sell.
- 41
Coaching, workshops and courses.
Coaching, training, workshops, retreats and online courses people take on your site.
- 35
Business consulting.
Business consulting and management advice, marketing consulting, and running an online store.
- 9
Downloadable content.
Courses, e-books, templates and recordings people download and keep.
- Filing fee
- $350 per class is the USPTO’s base application fee. Surcharges, per class: $100 if required information is missing, $200 for writing your own description instead of using the USPTO’s list, and $200 for every 1,000 characters past the first 1,000.USPTO fee schedule, checked October 2026.
- First response
- About 4.3 months, on average, before an examiner first acts on an application.USPTO, data as of October 1, 2026.
- Start to finish
- About 10.4 months, on average, from filing to a registration or an abandoned application.USPTO, data as of October 1, 2026.
Five things that catch coaches off guard.
Coaching businesses grow in their own ways: certifications, podcasts, partners and communities. Each one puts the name to work somewhere new.
- 01
Certifying other coaches.
If other coaches will teach or be certified in your method, that is a license or a certification mark. Without real quality control, the name gets weaker every time someone uses it.
- 02
Your podcast is its own brand.
A show name used for an ongoing series can be a trademark for entertainment services in Class 41, separate from your coaching brand.
- 03
Leaving with your audience.
If a business partner or your company owns the name, leaving can mean leaving the name behind. Decide who owns it on paper before launch.
- 04
Affiliates and collaborators.
Letting a partner sell your program under your name is a license. Put the terms in writing so their use strengthens the name instead of diluting it.
- 05
Membership and community names.
A paid community or membership sold under its own name may need its own filing, apart from the coaching brand.
One attorney, one clear process.
You don’t need to know trademark law to protect your brand. You need someone who does it every day and tells you the truth about your name before you spend money on it. Here is what that looks like at Citrus Legal.
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Step 01
Search
A clearance search for your name, so you know who else is out there before you commit to it.
Want only this step? Take me to Seed.
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Step 02
Clearance opinion
A plain-English read on how strong your name is and how risky it is to use and register, before you commit.
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Step 03
Filing
Your application prepared and filed with the USPTO, with the owner, class, description and filing basis chosen deliberately. Grove and Harvest add specimen review.
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Step 04
Prosecution
Tracking your application and answering the examiner. Grove covers every procedural Office Action. Harvest also covers refusals, like likelihood of confusion or descriptiveness.
"The registration process was overwhelming to do on my own. Gabrielle answered my questions and made the whole thing effortless. I made a good call hiring an attorney."
Six decisions to make before a coach or consultant files.
Coaching brands tend to collect names: the practice, the signature program, the podcast, the certification. These are the choices that decide which ones are worth protecting and in whose name.
- 01
Your own name or a brand name.
A practice under your name is tied to you, and a bare surname can be refused until it is well known. A brand name can be sold or handed to a partner. If you may ever sell the business, choose with that in mind.
Read: Trademarking your last name - 02
Which offers carry their own names.
The practice, the signature program, the membership, the podcast and the certification can each be a separate brand. Not all of them need a filing. The ones you will advertise on their own usually do.
Read: Protecting a program name - 03
What you can own and what you can not.
You can register the name of your method. Trademark law doesn’t stop anyone from teaching similar ideas, and copyright protects your workbooks and recordings, not the method itself.
Read: Trademark, copyright and patent - 04
The right classes.
Coaching, workshops and courses are Class 41. Business and marketing consulting is Class 35. Downloadable courses and e-books are Class 9, and printed books and workbooks are Class 16.
Read: How trademark classes work - 05
Partners, affiliates and licensees.
Letting other coaches teach or sell under your name is a license. Without written terms and real quality control, each outside use weakens the name.
Read: Licensing and quality control - 06
Names that only describe the result.
Confidence Coaching for confidence coaching is descriptive and hard to register. A name with a twist, or one that suggests the result without stating it, is easier to own.
Read: Strong vs weak names
The ones coaches and consultants ask most.
Yes, if the name identifies your services and is not merely descriptive or too close to an existing mark. Coaching services usually go in Class 41. A search first tells you whether the name is available.
Often, but a name that is primarily just a surname can be refused until it has acquired distinctiveness, and a name that identifies a living person needs that person’s signed consent. A full name is treated differently from a bare surname.
You can register the name of the method. Trademark law does not give you the method itself, and copyright protects your written materials and recordings, not the ideas or process they describe.
If you coach and teach, Class 41. If you advise businesses on operations, marketing or strategy, Class 35. Many consultants file in both. The search and the services you actually offer decide it.
You can file on an intent-to-use basis before launch. Your filing date holds your place in line, and the registration issues after you start using the name and show proof of use.
It depends on how similar the names are, how close the services are, and who used the name first. A search shows registered and unregistered uses, and the opinion tells you how much risk you would be taking on. Read more: How different does a name have to be?
If the course is sold and advertised under its own name, it can be a brand of its own. Live and online courses are Class 41, and downloadable versions are Class 9. Read more: Protecting a program name
Yes, the name of an ongoing series can be a trademark for entertainment or education services in Class 41. The title of a single episode or a single book can’t. Read more: Podcast and YouTube names
A tagline can register if customers see it as identifying you, not just as a message. A hashtag can register only if it works as a brand on its own, not as a way to tag posts.
A written license that says how the name can be used and lets you check quality. Uncontrolled licensing can weaken the name and, at worst, cost you the rights. Read more: Licensing and quality control
Whoever controls the services. If your company delivers the coaching, it usually should own the mark, which also makes the brand easier to sell later. Read more: You or your LLC
No. A state LLC filing lets you do business under the name. It doesn’t give you rights against someone else using it, in your state or anywhere else. Read more: Your LLC is not your trademark
A page on your website or an ad that shows the name with the services offered, such as a sales page for the program with a way to sign up. The services have to actually be available. Read more: Specimens and proof of use
Possibly. Printed books are Class 16, e-books Class 9, and retreats and workshops Class 41. A single book title can’t be registered, but the name of a book series can.
Our search is $650, and a search plus filing starts at $1,800 for one class. Many coaches need Classes 35 and 41, which our Grove package covers at $2,600. The USPTO fee is $350 per class on top. Read more: Our flat fees, line by line
Know where your name stands before you launch.
Start here, or email us first. Either one gets you a straight answer about what to do next.
Seed is a clearance search and a written opinion letter from the attorney who ran it, in under two weeks. Not sure which package fits? Email us and we’ll point you to the right one.