![]() ![]() Strictly speaking, you’re not legally obliged to register your logo as a trade mark. So if you register your logo as a trade mark, for instance, other businesses won’t be able to use that logo in an attempt to ‘pass off’ their product or service as yours. Once a trademark is registered, you have the exclusive rights to use, license and sell it. On the other hand, the shape of a new ergonomic chair aboard that plane would be a design. IP Australia, who are responsible for registering trademarks in Australia, give the example of the flying red kangaroo on the tail of Qantas planes – that’s a trademark. A trademark can even be a sound, a scent, a particular way that your product is packaged, or a combination of any of these things. Virtually anything can be a trademark – your logo can be a trademark, sure, but so can a word, phrase, letter or number that you want people to associate with your business. Designs have to be new to be registered, whereas trademarks don’t.Ī trademark is your brand identity. Designs are subject to their own intellectual property (IP) laws, which refer specifically to the shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation of a particular product. Legally, it’s not even considered a design. It’s not a business name, which has to be registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). For that matter, your logo is automatically copyrighted when it’s created, and that copyright most likely belongs to the graphic designer who worked on it, so you’ll want to make sure they transfer that copyright over to you. It’s not a copyright, which is created automatically as soon as a particular work – like a movie, a book, or even this article – is created. The easiest way to understand what a trademark is might be to understand what a trademark is not. ![]() 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.A trademark is, essentially, a form of brand protection that sets your business apart from your competitors. 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. ![]()
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