Have you ever been subjected to copyright issues? Has someone ever stolen any of your design and you had no evidence to prove it as yours? Well, if your answer to the above questions is a no, then you happen to be quite lucky. And to ensure you stay lucky in the future as well, here are a few tips you need to know to trademark logo design.
If you have noticed the ™ or ® on designs, ideas, products before, you must be aware that it happens to be the trademark sign and this is what you need to have on your logo design. A trademark is distinctive and therefore it will enable your clients to distinguish your particular product or services from other companies. Trademarks are brands and you will protect your logo design by securing associated trademark rights for it. These trademark rights will allow you to keep your brand distinctive and will stop others from using a similar brand or trademark.
| “Trademark” definition according to Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure:The term “trademark” includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof – (1) used by a person, or (2) which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce and applies to register on the principal register established by this Act, to identify and distinguish his or her goods, including a unique product, from those manufactured or sold by others to indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown. Source |
Your company’s logo happens to be a trademark that will be placed on all your company’s products, services or any printed/published material that is related to the services you offer. A logo can be a design in stylized words, in a shape of a badge logo, icon logo or anything that you like. (We happen to offer our clients a vast range of very interesting and unique logo design ideas. If interested, for an express custom logo design you can visit us on www.logo123.com).
Examples of trademark logo design
Once you have selected your logo design, you need to secure its rights by trademarking it. Here’s how you can protect your logo if you happen to be in the US.
Step #1
Ensure that your company’s logo is unique. To know that nobody else is using your company’s logo you will have to perform a trademark search. This will let you know if someone has a similar or the same logo as yours. If someone already has a similar logo trademarked and you still use yours, you might be sued for infringement of trademark in future. You can either search for trademarks through the US Patent and Trademark office records or hire a trademark attorney to get the job done for you.
Step #2
Once you are certain your logo is unique, you can secure the rights to your logo in three different ways.
First, you can acquire trademark rights for your logo by using it in connection with all your products and services. However, these rights will be geographically limited.
Secondly you can file an application for registering your trademark with your state’s secretary if you happen to do business within your state only. However this will also be limited because it trademarks your logo in that particular state only.
The third way is to file for a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark office. If you have a bigger business setup in mind then this is what you ought to do. Once your trademark application is approved you will have secured rights to your trademark across the entire United States of America. Its wise if you consult a trademark attorney so that there is no room for your application to be rejected or disapproved.Once you have trademarked your logo, keep it safe against adoption and use by placing a trademark watch on it. It will alert you when any third party uses a logo similar to yours and you will be able to take legal action against them.