How to Trademark a Brand Logo

The logo represents your business. No matter, if it’s your creation or someone else design, you should consider how to protect that design before you put it out in the world. The transition from concept to operation is a crucial one. There is also a trademark law to help you with the case.

We will answer a few crucial questions about trademarking a logo:

What is a trademark?

Word is self-explanatory, and the trademark is a mark of a trade! It can be logo, slogan or Image or some combination used to connect products, with the maker/creator of those products.

Recognition of the public should be a start point for the outer identifier of the product’s source. There are classic examples like Mc Donald’s logo or Nike swoosh. When you see Nike’s swoosh on the pair of snickers, you recognize those snickers as a Nike Product.

What does a trademark protect?

In the marketplace, you should protect your business brand. That’s the primary purpose of the trademark. There is an example of the Adidas company. Shoes with three white stripes let people know that shoes are designed by Adidas company. Now, if some company starts to sell shoes two white stripes, people can easily think those shoes are also Adidas shoes.

They do n’t just lose the money. They lose customer confidence if the similar looking shoes are not great in quality. The law says that your trademark is infringed upon when another company’s brand elements are similar enough to confuse customers. Infringing companies must stop using the same trademark.

Who owns the logo trademark?

The business owner who uses the trademark properly owns the trademark, so the logo designer usually isn’t the trademark owner. Using the trademark for products in commerce usually defines Trademark ownership.

When does a logo become a trademark?

The logo becomes a trademark when it appears on labels, product or packaging and the public recognizes the company behind that particular combination of colors and shapes. When you spot a sign with golden arches, you probably think of McDonald’s restaurant or similar food to them.

What do you gain from registering your logo as a trademark?

On the soil of the United States, trademark rights begin when the trademark is put into commercial use. That means as soon as you start to advertise your product with the logo, your logo is technically trademark in the eyes of the law. These law trademark rights are limited and sometimes difficult to enforce.

Registration with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office is advisable since only registered trademarks:

•    Qualify you to get trademark protection in other countries.
•    Allow you to bring an infringement lawsuit in federal instead of state court.
•    Are protected under the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.  This allows trademark owners to sue domain name registrants using identical or confusingly similar trademarks.
•    Can ask the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to confiscate counterfeit and infringing imported goods automatically.

Trademarks shouldn’t be offensive or misleading if you want to qualify for registration!