How To Trademark A Logo
Target, Apple. Nike, McDonald’s, Starbucks. This group includes some of the most successful companies in today’s business market. They are also five of the most recognizable brands around the globe with consumers instantly identifying their products by their logo. While a logo seems like such a simple concept, the power created in the mind of the consumer by a well-designed logo cannot be understated.
At RYCO Design, we understand the story that a logo can tell in a matter of seconds. The way that the consumer perceives a logo design can mean the difference between converting a new customer, or just being “another option” in the ever-expanding retail and online world.
Our creative process starts with a conversation around our client’s purpose to ensure that the consumer connects a design with the tone and mission of the business. The next step is to determine whether a representative or abstract logo design is the best fit and if the name of the company, or if any other words should be included in the final design. Color and font are considered, and then we begin the iterative process of fine-tuning the design to meet our client’s expectations. The logos designed by the team at RYCO Design are of the highest quality and unique to our clients. You can find out more about our Brand and Logo Design services here.
Just as important, our team is creating a design that is distinct with one purpose in mind, the ability to protect the logo design and the power it creates through a Trademark. While trademarking is not the right decision for all clients, every logo designed by our team can be submitted to be trademarked either through the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, or through the state’s Secretary of State’s Office. While this process can be daunting for some clients, the ability to protect a logo design and the identity and value It creates in the market is vital. By simply using your trademark in daily business activities, a business is given claim to the logo, but those protections are limited without proper filing.
So where to start? There are law firms and independent attorneys that focus strictly on intellectual property protections and can manage the Trademarking of logo design. We do recommend utilizing professionals to ensure that the trademark is filed correctly, and clients should expect to incur filing costs in excess of the filing fee. Any attorney or firm should be transparent in their approach to filing trademarks or patents, similar to this post by the Gerben Law Firm.
However, there are many informative websites that provide a step by step process to trademarking, and it is possible to receive a registered trademark without the assistance of an attorney. The first step that should and can be taken independently is to search the USPTO’s TESS database to see if the logo or design that is being considered is available for a trademark. The search results will provide a better picture as to whether the logo design is similar to other designs, which doesn’t mean it will not be trademarked, but it is more likely that the process could take longer due to requested revisions. If the search doesn’t return any results, that doesn’t mean the process will be faster, but that there is less of a chance that a previously filed trademark would be infringed upon.
For those businesses that do move forward independent of counsel, we recommend doing extensive research to make sure that all details of the filing process are followed, as any deviation from the process can cause a rejection. Steps such as the necessary types of logo file formats that need to be submitted are very important, as these little details if missed, can derail a filing, and put protections at risk.
