![]() You own the copyright of a design as soon as you create it. Having copyrights means that nobody else can share or use your creative work without authorization. What Is a Copyright?Ĭopyright is the legal right to share, reproduce and publish visual assets like artwork, illustrations, book covers, or images. Let’s find out what they are and how you can protect your logo from being used and shared by others without your permission. This means you have exclusive ownership and control over how your logo is used, and no one else can copy or imitate it without your permission.īy getting the copyrights of your logo, you can keep it secure, trademark it and prevent any infringement by others. Once you’ve cleared steps 1 and 2, register your logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the trademark office in your country or jurisdiction.Ĭontact me for help protecting your logo.Logo copyright is the legal right to use, distribute, and promote your logo design anywhere.Make sure that your logo is unique – if the image is being used by someone else, then it can’t function as your trademark or be registered with the USPTO. ![]() Make sure that your company actually owns the logo and, if necessary, that there are contracts in place to prove ownership.To summarize, if you have a logo that’s important to your business, here are the steps you should follow: This contract should be created or reviewed by an intellectual property lawyer to ensure that it’s in compliance with the law and that it’s effective in transferring the IP rights. If someone else created your logo – meaning, it wasn’t created directly by you or an employee of your company – it’s important that there’s a signed contract with the designer granting your company full rights in the image. However, it’s important to be sure that your company actually owns the logo both under copyright and trademark law. This means you have two potential claims against the infringer. So if someone knocks off your logo, they may be committing both trademark and copyright infringement. A logo, just like any other kind of visual image, is protected under copyright law at the moment of creation, pursuant to the U.S. Logos also differ from Word Marks in that they also implicate copyright law. Meaning, if someone else is already using the same or a similar logo, it can’t function as your trademark, and you can’t register it with the USPTO. The proposed logo trademark must satisfy the USPTO’s requirements and it must be unique in connection with the listed goods and services. Note that the same rules apply to all trademarks, including logos. In the U.S., trademarks are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). Logos that are just a brand name in a particular font and color may not be as visually distinct, and therefore may not be as important to protect, as long as the brand name itself is registered. This is particularly true when it comes to visually distinct logos. In either case, if your logo is an important brand identifier – meaning, if the logo is strongly identified with your company, products, or services, then it’s worth protecting by registering it as a trademark. Of course, a logo can be a pure design, or it can be a design that includes words, letters, and/or numbers. In the world of trademark law, we refer to logos as “Design Marks” as opposed to “Word Marks”. Logos can function as trademarks just like any other brand identifier can. ![]() The last category hasn’t gotten as much attention on this blog as some of the others, so let’s remedy that today. But in practice, when we talk about trademarks, we’re usually referring to business names, brand names, slogans, and logos. In theory, anything that identifies your business as the source of your products or services can be a trademark. ![]()
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