by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - March 18, 2011 - e. How to Trademark a Logo
Did you ever wonder how to trademark a logo? In this episode of Trademark Law Radio, Trademark Attorney Brian A. Hall discusses trademarking a logo or stylized design. This show is sponsored by Traverse Trademark Law, internet law attorneys specializing in trademark registration, trademark infringement, trademark protection and trademark monitoring.
"How to Trademark My Logo" Quick-Tips:
Attorney Brian A. Hall: Considering registering a trade mark for your logo? Ownership of a trademark registration for a character mark, or the words and letters themselves, is a great start. But, in order to increase the overall protection of your intellectual property, as well as the underlying value of that trademark, it is important to consider additional trademark registrations. The obvious next step is to register the logo which displays on your signage or web site. The United States Patent and Trademark Office allows for these types of registrations.
The first kind of non-word mark is known as a stylized design mark. A stylized design mark is a type of trademark registration that allows the applicant to identify a particular font, color or other unique aspect of the characters as part of a trademark registration. This is slightly different than a logo trademark registration.
The second kind of trademark registration allowed by the USPTO besides a character mark is what’s known as a logo trademark. A logo mark is simply a mark that does not include any words, letters or symbols, but is simply limited to the logo itself. This particular image may be something that’s worth protecting. A common example of a company that goes to great lengths to protect its trademarks in all their various forms is Nike. Nike owns the character (logo) mark for the word “Nike”, those letters. Nike also owns a trademark registration for its design of those words, be it in a color or a particular style. Finally, Nike owns a registration for the swoosh logo.
It is important for you to also protect your logo trademark in all its design variations. As you have likely already experienced, you do not always simply use your trademark registration in the form that it exists, namely the characters. Instead, you have added multiple designs, logos and/or other styles to that trademark. As such, it is important for you to pursue a trademark registration in order to increase the scope of your trademark protection, as well as increase the ultimate value associated with your company as evidence in those logo trademarks. It is not uncommon for a company to register multiple logo trademarks covering the same types of goods or services.
Ultimately, a trademark attorney who understands how to register a logo as a trademark can help you identify all the types of marks that you’ve used and prioritize which ones are necessary to increase your trademark protection and the underlying value of your intellectual property and brand.
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
