Reuters reportst that boy-band Westlife lost its bid to trademark its name. Apparently, the name is too similiar to Imperial Tobacco’s West cigarette trademark.

The band can still use the name on merchandise, but it can’t prevent other people from using it. That means enterprising young souls can start selling Westlife-branded merchandise with impunity.

I’ve never heard of Westlife – they’re a boy band and that isn’t exactly the genre that gets piped through the ML office – and I don’t smoke. But there’s an important (and simple) lesson here and it applies not only to bands, but anyone developing a product.

The lesson? Make sure your band’s name isn’t going to run up against any trademark infringement problems.

It’s not that hard, really. But you also need to be aware that trademark registrations take time – sometimes up to two years. You can search the online databases – like the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s – and the name you’re choosing might look clear.

But even that is no guarantee that the name will be clear and that you’ll get it.

To us, the guilty party here isn’t Westlife – most bands aren’t thinking about trademark related issues. And it’s definitely not Imperial Tobacco, they’re just trying to protect their own intellectual property. The guilty party is Sony BMG for not counseling its own band and making sure they’d be able to protect their name.