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Copyright a Logo

Written by: Shannon Moore

Article Overview: When deciding to protect your logo or design it can be a bit confusing trying to decide how to protect it. After all, your logo is basically the face of your product line or your services so it makes sense that you'd want to do the right thing when it comes to ensuring that you have exclusive rights to it. The question is should you copyright your logo or trademark your logo? The answer, surprisingly, may be both.

Copyright a Logo

When deciding to protect your logo or design it can be a bit confusing trying to decide how to protect it. After all, your logo is basically the face of your product line or your services so it makes sense that you'd want to do the right thing when it comes to ensuring that you have exclusive rights to it. The question is should you copyright your logo or trademark your logo? The answer, surprisingly, may be both.

The US Copyright Office states "copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship." What does this mean exactly?

Each logo or design is going to vary from the next in regard to being eligible for copyright protection, of course, but the key to understanding is learning what is meant by "sufficient authorship." Logos or designs that fall into any one of the two categories are not eligible for copyright protection:

• familiar symbols or designs, e.g. the peace sign, a single arrow, a Latin cross, etc.

• mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering or coloring, e.g. text in Times New Roman font, Text Using Only Sentence Case, text in purple

An even easier way to think about is to ask yourself one question about your logo - was there any creativity involved at all in designing the logo? If you're using a symbol you found in Microsoft Word or in a clip art program, then no. If you're using a logo you or someone else designed for you that contain a degree of creativity and/or uniqueness of some form or fashion, then yes.

Even if your logo does qualify for copyright protection, do not assume it's the same as trademark protection. Copyrights and trademarks are fraternal twins - obviously related but look nothing alike. Copyrights protect the image itself whereas the trademark protects the image as it is used within the marketplace.

To protect your logo IN CONNECTION with your product line and/or services, a trademark is the way to go. The purpose of having a trademark, be it for a name, logo or slogan, is to obtain exclusive rights to the mark within your particular industry. This ensures that there will not be customer confusion when it comes to your goods/services and another within your industry.

Filing a trademark for a logo is similar to filing a trademark for a name. Comprehensive research is likely needed to ensure that the same or similar design is not already filed. I know what you're thinking - I know my logo is unique OR I paid for my logo to be designed so I know no one else has it - we hear that a lot. The one thing to always remember about trademarks is that the mark need not be exact to another. If there's a chance for customer confusion, it can be a problem.

Related Articles
  The Importance of a Logo Design for a Company
  9 Keys to an Effective Logo
  Trademark a Name and Logo: Together or Separate?
  Get a Custom Logo Design and watch your Business Grow
  Why you should Select a Good Logo Designer

Article Tags: authorship, case text, clip art program, copyright protection, copyrights and trademarks, do the right thing, font text, fraternal twins, latin cross, lettering, logo artwork, microsoft word, ornamentation, peace sign, sentence case, times new roman, times new roman font, tradem, trademark protection, us copyright office



Related Forum Posts
Re: Inspiration for Logos - [quote:n4xowjxl]When you want a client to think of your Logo may this not be an example of what he thinks. Let its all be positive and with hope of something better coming.[/quote:n4xowjxl] Huh? Can you you say this a different way? I'm confused and curious... cause I like messing around with logos...
Inspiration for Logos - When a Buddhist looks at a Tibetan flag one of the first thing that pops in their mind is admiration respect. After assimilating that they keep thinking and repression might come next. Living as part of a communist nation may bring lots of feelings. Chastity, prayer, humility all these virtues are all mixed. When you want a client to think of your Logo may this not be an example of what he thinks. Let its all be positive and with hope of something better coming.
You are too young - I don't really believe (I've been into web designing for 7 years now... I started in 2000) there is any web design laws. Besides the fact that you can't use copyrighted images on web design without permission from the original author. Also, any web designs you do you may want to have it copyrighted so other's can't steal your idea's or whatever... of course, you can offer a "Copyright Change" option for a bit more money that will allow you to be able to transfer the copyrights and give exclusive rights to the purchaser. All in all, don't worry about the laws... you should be fine, just remember that if your in the U.S. that if your making over $400 (or maybe its $600) in revenue, you'll have to pay taxes to the government... and please get a LLC, although its not a big thing with web designs, you could get into legal trouble somewhere in the business. Lastly, use contracts for when your selling or use agreements to clear the air so that you can have a safe business and you'll have some backing up if you ever are taken to court.
Re: Inspiration for Logos - [quote="RussellWebb":3c1ri7h5][quote:3c1ri7h5]When you want a client to think of your Logo. May this not be an example of what he thinks. Let its all be positive and with hope of something better coming.[/quote:3c1ri7h5] Huh? Can you you say this a different way? I'm confused and curious... cause I like messing around with logos...[/quote:3c1ri7h5] I am simply stating: let your product stand out as a star. Don't let it become as complex, Infernal and a blur image as the state of this extraordinary country. In simple terms, let you not be bound or chained to anything that might affect your project. It’s a very round concept it’s more like a metaphor.
What SHOULD be in your footer? - [quote="Evan":28oh58ta]What's in your footer?[/quote:28oh58ta] Hi Evan, I always thought people simply used the legal "Copyright" jargon and some navigation links as their footers. But after reviewing the link you provided, I think you should try using your "footer" space to advertise other sections and features on your site. For example, you could create 3 to 4 large rectangle images that link to a) your "Famous Entrepreneur" profiles, b) SEO for Africa - showing photos from the actual seminar, c) and even the most popular forum posts via Google keyword search (e.g. "Slogans for 2008" or "The Celebrity Apprentice" to generate even higher rankings. Perhaps a better question a better question to ask would be "What [u:28oh58ta]should[/u:28oh58ta] be in your footer?"


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