TM Atlas

Pen names, series titles and trademarked words on KDP

A single book title is free to use even if another book has it. A series name is a brand. A pen name is a brand. The words inside your title can be someone's brand. KDP treats each case differently, and so should you.

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Screening only. Not legal advice. Coverage varies by register; see the panel above.

KDP's content review flags trademarks in four places, and the rules are different in each.

Single titles: free

The title of one book is not a trademark. You can publish "The Long Road" even though dozens of books carry it. What KDP blocks is a title that reproduces a registered brand, such as a book called by the name of a famous product, or one that implies affiliation with a franchise.

Series names: a brand

The moment you publish book two under a series name, that name works like a brand and can be registered as one. Several authors have registered their series names; several more have received complaints for using one that was already registered. Before you commit to a series, check the name in class 16 and 9, and in 41 if you plan audio or adaptations.

Pen names: a brand, and occasionally someone else's

A pen name that matches a living author's name or a registered author brand is the most common KDP name problem I see. Estates and publishers register author names. Check the pen name as a brand, in the same classes, and search it as a plain web query too, because an established author with the same name will cause reader confusion long before any complaint.

Words inside the title: the trap

This is where most KDP trademark blocks land. A word in your title or subtitle that is a registered mark in class 16 or 9, used in a way that looks like a brand. Names of games, apps, diets, methods and products all show up here. Using the word descriptively ("a guide to playing chess") is fine. Using it as if it were your brand, or in a way that suggests the owner endorses the book, is not.

Run the check

Paste the title, subtitle, series name and pen name into the checker above with KDP selected. It sets the classes to 16, 9 and 41 and pulls out every phrase that looks like a brand. Anything live and close in those classes is worth changing before you upload, because a KDP block after publication means an unpublished book, a support ticket and a wait.

Fair questions

Can another author stop me using the same book title?

For a single title, almost never. Titles of individual works are not trademarks. The exceptions are titles that became series brands or franchises.

My series name matches a registered mark in another class. Is that a problem?

Usually not, if the other mark is in unrelated goods and the owner is not a publisher or media company. Check class 16 (printed books), 9 (ebooks and audio) and 41 (publishing and entertainment).

KDP asked me for proof I can use a word in my title. What do they want?

Either a licence from the rights owner or evidence that the word is used descriptively and not as a brand. If the word is a live mark in class 16 or 9 and your book is not about that brand, changing the title is faster.

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