Is the term "Surround Sound" trademarked or copyrighted?

[edmondo93]

For instance, if I wanted to name my band Surround Sound, would that be a problem with trademark or copyright infringement? Is the term owned by Dolby or some company?

[drystan]

The term is not copyrighted, as short phrases are ineligible for copyright protection.

The term was registered as a trademark on December 6, 2007, but that registration is now considered "dead", abandoned on September 21, 2008. However, I simply did a preliminary search of Trademarks in the USPTO's database (link below) and did no further digging, so don't take this as legal advice. I suggest you do your own searches as well.

Good luck!