How To Register Company Logo
You lot know those trivial superscript symbols next to brand names and logos—™ and ®? They're the trademark and registered trademark symbols, respectively. And if you have a logo or you're in the process of creating a logo, agreement these tips for trademarking a logo can save y'all fourth dimension, money and headaches equally you grow your make.
By simply having a logo, you accept what's known every bit a common law trademark for your logo. That means that, without doing anything paperwork-wise, you accept the sole legal right to employ and improve that logo as y'all see fit. But without an officially registered trademark, that right isn't as secure equally information technology could be. Hither we answer the pinnacle questions near trademarking a logo.
- Trademark basics
- The process of trademarking a logo
- Owning and protecting trademarks
Trademark basics
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What is a trademark?
A trademark is a legal designation that protects a piece of intellectual belongings from infringement.
Allow's break that down.
Intellectual property is any type of original creation. Near annihilation can be a piece of intellectual belongings: a drawing, a song, an innovation, a unique process, a novel, a movie, an invention, the lawmaking you've developed, a recipe and in some circumstances, an application of a scientific discovery.
If you create something, it's your intellectual property. You lot have near-total control over your intellectual property, which ways you go to make up one's mind if and when to sell it, who yous license its utilize to and the circumstances under which the license is granted, and so what licensing entails and what information technology costs the licensee. You lot also control how it tin can exist added onto, similar in the form of a sequel.
When somebody else uses your intellectual belongings without your consent, information technology's known as infringement. However, there are a few circumstances under which another party may use your intellectual holding without your consent—in the US, these are covered by the Off-white Apply Doctrine.
Outside these circumstances, infringement is illegal and as the possessor of the intellectual belongings, you have the right to take legal activeness against everyone infringing on your intellectual property. Intellectual property infringement is something every designer should have at least a bones understanding of.
How is a trademark unlike from a copyright?
A copyright does the same thing as a trademark. The difference between them is the specific types of intellectual property they protect:
- A copyright protects artistic endeavors like novels, works of visual fine art, short stories, characters' names and fictional worlds, songs, code and other types of creations that don't explicitly exist for commercial purposes
- A trademark protects intellectual holding that does exist for explicitly commercial purposes, like brand names, logos, taglines and slogans
What does a trademark protect?
A trademark solidifies your buying of your intellectual property. By simply creating and using a logo, you automatically have the sole right to employ it and take legal action confronting infringement. But past registering your trademark, that correct is strengthened and you gain boosted legal protections.
In the United States for example, trademarks are registered with the Usa Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Other countries have similar agencies and offer similar trademark protection through them.
Registering a trademark with the USPTO grants yous the following rights and protections:
- The right to take legal action against alleged infringement of the trademark in federal courtroom.
- The public is notified of your trademark registration.
- You are legally presumed to own the trademark and hold exclusive rights to employ it in relation to the goods and/or services listed in your registration.
- It paves the way for you to register your trademark in other countries more easily.
- You lot may prevent the importation of foreign goods that infringe on your trademark.
What can't it protect?
A trademark can't grant you the exclusive right to anything generic. For example, you tin't name your business "Juicy Oranges" and expect to trademark the name and a logo featuring the name.
A trademark also can't prohibit others from using your intellectual property in ways compliant with the Off-white Use Doctrine. More often than not, Fair Use allows others to use trademarked and copyrighted work in means that won't lead to consumer defoliation.
We cover these in greater detail in our blog post on the things every designer should know near intellectual property and trademark infringement.
Is a trademark enforceable around the world?
No. Trademarking your logo only grants you trademark protection in the country where you filed for the trademark. Although trademarking your logo in one country can make it easier to trademark it in another, you need to file for a separate trademark in every country where you lot want that legal protection.
Who owns a logo trademark?
When you design your own logo, you exercise. When y'all committee a designer to create a logo for you, the trademark is transferred to you in one case you purchase it from them. Commonly at that place's a Transfer Agreement that both parties sign.
As the trademark owner, you decide where the logo appears, how the logo is updated or amended and which parties may license it for use in their own materials.
The procedure of trademarking a logo
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Can I trademark my own name?
Yes. However, it needs to be for a concern-related purpose.
Allow's say your proper name is Sarah Keller and you lot create custom resin earrings. You tin can admittedly trademark a business proper name like Sarah Keller Jewelry or Earrings by Sarah.
Simply in this instance, trademarking your name just protects your intellectual property in the business category you're working in. If there'south another Sarah Keller out there and she decides to trademark her photography business concern' name, Sarah Keller Photography, she can admittedly exercise that without worrying about infringing on your copyright.
Think advisedly about trademarking your name as your brand name and making it part of your logo. Though it's an easy mode to create a unique mark, you're also giving your name to something that exists separate from y'all—and even if you leave the company years in the future, that brand will nevertheless be operating nether your name.
This is what happened to Britain fashion designer Karen Millen. After playing a key role in building her retail company to the global make information technology is today, she exited in 2004. Simply considering the business is registered in the U.k. equally Karen Millen, she cannot legally register a new trademark in the UK with a substantially similar name. Additionally, a court ruled in 2016 she also cannot employ her name to brand vesture and household goods in the U.s.a. and People's republic of china, equally this violates the terms of her 2004 agreement.
Does my logo qualify for trademark protection?
If it'southward stiff enough, it volition. If information technology's not potent enough, the USPTO (or your country'southward trademark function) will reject it.
What constitutes a stiff logo?
In the earth of intellectual property, a potent logo or proper name is one that is unmistakably unique to its creator.
These include fabricated-up names like Microsoft and Google likewise equally words and symbols not typically associated with the production or service they're attached to, like Apple computers or White Castle hamburgers.
In contrast, a weak logo or proper noun is 1 that's generic (like an icon or emoji for example) or simply describes the product or service. A few hypothetical examples of these include Succulent Water ice Foam, Trustworthy Law Firm and Gray Brick Daycare Center.
How long does it take to trademark a logo?
Commonly, trademarking a logo takes between vi and nine months from filing to issuance. However, it tin have upwardly to 3 years for complex cases.
What does it cost to trademark a logo?
The toll of trademarking a logo varies by country. In the Usa, trademarking a logo with the USPTO costs between $275 and $660 plus legal fees. Trademarking a logo with a state trademark office (which offers similar protection to registering it at the federal level, but merely within a specific state) mostly costs betwixt $50 and $150.
What does the process of trademarking a logo involve?
Earlier you apply for trademark registration, conduct a search of your land'due south and state'due south databases to make up one's mind if another company is already using a logo that's also shut to the one yous want to use. Searching the internet tin assistance at this stage too considering information technology can grab common police force logos y'all otherwise wouldn't catch. Make sure y'all really research all the names and images you're considering, because if your logo is too like to an existing brand'due south, your awarding will be rejected and you'll have to essentially restart the procedure.
Once y'all've determined your logo isn't likewise similar to some other brand'southward, yous tin can get ahead and file a trademark awarding with your country's trademark role, for example the USPTO in the US. It then goes into USPTO review.
At this stage, one of two things tin can happen. The trademark office can either determine your logo is qualified to trademark the mode it is and issue information technology for publication (which leads to registration) or they could notice i or more than issues with it and take role action. When this happens, yous are notified of why the logo was rejected and given vi months to respond. At this stage, if all bug are corrected, the trademark office may approve the logo and publish it. Or, if the issues are not fully resolved, they may accept office action again, and y'all again have 6 months to respond.
After a second office action, the logo may be published or rejected, depending on whether it meets the trademark part'due south criteria for trademarking a logo.
Practice I demand to piece of work with a lawyer to trademark my logo?
No. You can admittedly DIY the process of trademarking your logo.
Simply working with a lawyer tin can be beneficial. An experienced intellectual belongings lawyer can file your trademark application for y'all and handle all the paperwork on your behalf. Past having them do this, you can relieve yourself time, energy and the risk of potentially messing up—since your lawyer's done this lots of times earlier, they can get in as smoothen and easy every bit possible.
What if my trademark application is rejected?
There are a number of reasons why your trademark application might be rejected. These include:
- It'southward a generic logo.
- There'south a loftier likelihood consumers will confuse your logo with an existing trademarked logo.
- Your logo is merely decoration, rather than a legitimate identifying mark.
- Your logo contains offensive verbiage or imagery (though there are exceptions where this type of cloth tin be trademarked).
- The logo's imagery or text is geographically misdescriptive, which means it inaccurately implies your visitor or product is based in or sourced from a specific location.
If y'all feel the rejection was in error, you tin file an appeal with the trademark function to have the awarding reviewed over again and ideally, accustomed. If it turns out your logo doesn't authorize for trademarking, you'll demand to become back to the drawing lath and create a new logo before trying once again.
Owning and protecting trademarks
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What are the strongest trademarks? (and why?)
As nosotros mentioned in a higher place, the strongest trademarks are ones that are undeniably unique to their brands. This tin can be because they're:
- Made-up words or images.
- Capricious in relation to their product or service (think Apple tree computers).
When you don't have a registered trademark, asserting your ownership of your make name or logo can exist more difficult if yous have a weak trademark.
Why wouldn't I want to trademark my logo?
When y'all first create your logo, the next thing yous need to do is trademark it, right?
Not necessarily.
The trademarking process tin be fairly lengthy and expensive, so y'all don't want to be having to do information technology repeatedly. This means there are a few circumstances under which it'southward not advisable to trademark your logo… at to the lowest degree non right away. These circumstances include the following three points:
1. Things aren't set in stone
You lot're not totally committed to the logo yet—or you know you'll exist changing it within a short period of time. This could be because you made a quickie low-effort logo with a logo maker simply to have something in identify when your business launched and y'all plan on getting a professional logo created at a later engagement when y'all've got some more money to spend.
Perchance yous plan on expanding in the coming years and changing your logo to reflect that. In any case, a logo has to be consistently in use to exist protected by its trademark, so if your logo is just a "for now" logo, it's non worth the time or money to trademark information technology.
two. It'southward not unique
If your logo is fairly similar to another logo in use in your state, tread carefully. It could be like to a big, national make, significant there's a chance people volition go confused, modify your logo. It'southward not worth the confusion, looking like a copycat or potentially running into legal trouble with the other make.
But let's say that other visitor is based in Oregon, and yous're in New Jersey, and you lot're both modest businesses that primarily serve your local markets. In that example, you lot probably won't run into the issue of people confusing you for the other visitor… but y'all still tin can't register your logo with the USPTO. In this example, registering your trademark with your state should provide enough protection.
3. Your business concern could be temporary
What about if you aren't sure your business will last? Hey, it's a valid concern. Peradventure it's merely a side hustle for you and y'all're not convinced you lot'll want to do it forever. Or it's simply a stopgap between full time positions. Only similar it doesn't make sense to register a logo that's going to alter in the near future, information technology'due south well-nigh likely not worth it to annals a logo for a business you're non sure will last.
How do I use those trademark symbols?
In that location'due south ii components to this question: when is the appropriate time to use each symbol, and how do y'all literally insert it into your text.
™ is used for trademarks that aren't registered with the trademark office. This includes trademarks that are currently awaiting. ® is for trademarks that are registered with the trademark office.
And here's how you insert the symbols into text:
- When typing on a Windows computer, make certain the [Num Lock] central is engaged, then utilise the keyboard combination of pressing the [Alt] key followed past the keypad number sequence of "0153" to insert the TM symbol or "0174" to insert the registered trademark symbol.
- On Apple operating systems, agree the [Pick] and "2" keys for the trademark sign, and hold [Option] and "R" at the aforementioned time to produce the registered trademark symbol.
- Insert either symbol by selecting it from the character map available in your software program.
What can I practise if I find my trademark being violated?
Lawyer upward. Depending on the specifics of the situation, you could potentially be entitled to recover damages for the infringement. Although working with a lawyer can be expensive, it doesn't necessarily have to exist. You tin can work with a pro bono lawyer or a lawyer providing low-cost services to inventors and startup businesses, as discussed in this mail service by the USPTO.
Usually, the kickoff pace in resolving an incident of trademark infringement is issuing a finish and desist letter. This is a letter from your lawyer to the party infringing on your trademark asking them to stop.
If this doesn't get them to stop, you might need to file a lawsuit to take the court order them to stop. This doesn't necessarily mean the court volition rule in your favor—if the court deems your similar logos are not causing defoliation, it may rule yous're both permitted to use the logo. This is what happened when Apple Corps and Apple, Inc went to court in 2006 over their similar names.
But how practice yous know if your trademark is being infringed? Read our article on how to cheque if your design has been copied, where we explain the tools and strategies you lot tin can apply to find out if your trademarked design is being used without your consent.
Trademarking a logo protects your unique brand
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As a growing brand, information technology's in your all-time interest to be proactive about trademarking your unique brand assets. But before you can file for a trademark, y'all need to have a unique logo to trademark! A unique logo is more likely to be approved than a generic one, so if you don't already have one, work with an experienced logo designer to create the perfect logo for your make.
Want to get the perfect logo for your business concern?
Work with our talented designers to arrive happen.
This article was originally written by Melissa Jenkins and published in 2016. It has been updated with new examples and data.
How To Register Company Logo,
Source: https://99designs.com/blog/logo-branding/trademarking-a-logo/
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