Guides
Guides for AI character creators
How the name, the mark and the image fit together, written for creators. Not legal advice; CharacterGuard isn’t a law firm and doesn’t file.
Run the free check →Free. It can tell you “do not file.”
§ 01
Protect your character
Start here: what a trademark covers for an AI character, and when it’s worth it.
- AI trademark: start with a free, honest checkThinking about an AI trademark for your character’s name? Get a free examination first. It may say “don’t file” — and tell you what to change.
- How to trademark an AI character (and when not to yet)Want to trademark an AI character? Start with a free examination of its name and channel. Honest result — including “don’t file yet” with what to fix.
- Why trademark your AI character’s name, and whenAs AI characters grow, copies follow. Why the name is the part you can own, why timing matters, and a free check that can say “do not file yet.”
- Can you trademark an AI-generated character?Sometimes the name and mark can be trademarked, if they brand a live channel. Get a free, honest check that can say “don’t file.”
- How to protect your AI character’s nameWant to protect your AI character’s name? Learn what a trademark can and can’t do, then get a free examination — honest enough to say “don’t file yet.”
- AI influencer trademark: is the name ready?Running an AI influencer? Find out if its name and mark look ready to trademark. Free check; it can say “don’t file,” with what to fix.
§ 02
Costs and classes
What the USPTO charges and which class a channel usually fits.
- How much does it cost to trademark an AI character’s name?USPTO fees for an AI character’s name in 2026: $350 per class, the add-on fees that can apply, intent-to-use costs, and what’s separate.
- Trademark Class 41 for YouTube and TikTok channelsWhich trademark class fits a YouTube or TikTok channel run by an AI character, what counts as proof of use, and when other classes come in.
§ 03
Copyright and AI art
What copyright does and doesn’t cover when an AI made the image.
- AI character copyright vs. trademarkCopyright or trademark for your AI character? A plain explainer on what each covers, plus a free examination of whether your character’s name is fileable.
- Can you copyright AI art? And what to protect insteadWhat the U.S. Copyright Office says about AI-generated images, what human work can still count, and why the character’s name is often what you can protect.
§ 04
If you’ve been copied
What to do when someone uses your character’s name or face.
- Someone copied my AI character. Now what?Someone copied your AI character? Calm first steps, what a trademark can and can’t do, and a free check of whether your character’s name is fileable.
- Someone copied your AI character: what to do nextCopied AI character? Save dated evidence, pick the right report on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and X, know when to call a lawyer, then run a free check.
Find out where your character’s name stands.
Name and channel link. Five rows, read live from public records.