Do I Need Copyright For My Logo?
It seems challenging to get a logo trademark, but we have a lot of experience on the matter. Let us prepare this article by noting that nothing in the text below constitutes legal advice. It is just our approach to trademarking, focused on what we have observed to be valid during our practise.
As a branding firm, we use innovative approaches to create names and corporate names for businesses and organisations of all sizes. The trick to having a brand and identity that can be trademarked is with any of our bigger clients. Want to create your own logo? Join Blue Sky Graphics online graphic design course today!
Do I Need Copyright For My Logo?
When it is imperative that the name or logo that we produce be licenced, we consult with our logo trademark attorney associates to carry out initial research into the usability of a brand name or logo. However, we counsel our customers to deal closely with a lawyer to get the job completed.
Trademark Logo vs. Copyright
You may have asked what the right word is, when you discuss the merits of why you ought to cover the emblem.
Both meanings relate to the rights of intellectual property. Copyright concerns literary works or works of art. Trademarking is for products that help to represent the name of an organisation. This contains the name and emblem of the organisation.
This ensures that a corporation can register a trademark on the basis of its corporate name, slogans, trademarks and other products that are effectively the brand name of the product or company.
So, most definitely, at this stage, you should be tilting around the word trademarking.
Hold on one sec, though. There are some logos which include a creative feature that would require security under both the trademark and copyright provisions. We expect these things can get muddy occasionally, so it is better to consult the legal team (or ours!) if you are curious how you need to get here.
If you need to register your trademark and copyright for your name or logo?
You definitely do not have to register the copyright and trademark of your company’s name or logo in the United Kingdom; you hold the copyright as soon as you placed the initial job on a sheet of paper or on a computer drive, and you earned a trademark as soon as you use the name and logo to advertise your brand. However, taking the extra step of registering all of them will offer you valuable defence. The registration of a trademark prevents you from violating your privileges if another business uses the same or somewhat close term. By filing your trademark name, you declare your trademark exclusive rights over your company line. And you are stopping anyone else from using your own brand in a related company.
The copyright and trademark of your company’s name or logo in the United Kingdom
If you own a small business that you operate in one state and do not plan to expand to new markets, you do not need to register a trademark with your name. You already have the freedom to use it on your business. In the other side, if you want to grow your business to enter different countries, it will be prudent to file a trademark, so that there is no misunderstanding if any organisation uses the same or identical name to yours.
For eg, if you start a blog and create a new logo for it, you would need to defend it. When it comes to licencing an emblem, just by having it, you create a trademark. You are making a visual representation of your company and your logo is what your clients remember you and what makes you stand out from your rivals. However, a trademark does offer more protection because it prevents others from stealing your logo or using one that is very similar to yours.
How should I make a trademark of my logo?
Under common law, the emblem is trademarked as soon as it is used in commerce. Although, according to LegalZoom, this will only cover you in your immediate area.
State registration can offer extra security which is reasonably easy and inexpensive. Federal logo registration is a little more of an operation. In fact, if you’ve formed a business entity in your state, you’ve already registered with the state.
However, if you ever tried to challenge any company to use your likeness, the name will have to be licenced with the U.K Patent and Trademark Office.
Another piece of this puzzle is the name of your company. A common question that arises is whether you can use a business name that might already be in use by another organisation. The answer is yes. And no, no.
See, if the other company is within the local neighbourhood, representing the same clientele, and operating within the same sector, then having the same or identical name is a major no-no.
Now, let us presume you are in the widget industry in the U.S., and another firm is in the doodad business in Switzerland. In this case, getting a similar name is not the worst thing in the world. The challenging part here is to secure a domain that matches your name and the path of the brand that is available for usage.
Again, this here is not legal advice. Just a few thoughts that we have come across while building brands.
Benefits with a Trademark Logo
The value of an organisation is not determined solely by the amount of money the company brings. There is an added benefit associated with a firm, based on the prestige and goodwill the organisation has created through the years by market recognition.
Through defending your intellectual property, you defend yourself from someone who uses the goodwill that you have gained from piggybacking off the name that you have made.
In addition, you prevent your company from being involved with any venture that might be unsavoury. If anyone uses your brand look and sound, brand name, or some other part of your brand to encourage an event that demolishes the brand, there may be repercussions.
Any disconnection in the mind of the customer steadily (or quickly) begins to disassemble the brand. For obvious purposes, this begins to undermine what you have worked so long to create—cohesion.
Costs in trademarking
Overall, the decision whether or not to trademark the elements of your brand is one that is unique to your business. When you launch a branding project with the Nice Branding Agency, this is something that we will explore at the start of the project. If you wish to trademark your logo, we are pleased to bring you in contact with our legal team to find out the details.
