![]() ![]() Cost of Trademarking According to LegalZoom, “You can submit a trademark registration application online, using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) or through an online service. For obvious reasons, this starts to erode what you’ve been working so hard to create - cohesion. Any disconnect in the minds of the consumer slowly (or quickly) starts to cause your brand to disassemble. If someone uses your brand look and feel, brand mark, or any other element of your brand to promote an action that dismantles the brand, there could be consequences. ![]() Additionally, you’re protecting your business from becoming associated with another venture that may be unsavory. By protecting your intellectual property, you’re guarding against anyone utilizing the goodwill you’ve garnered by piggybacking off the brand you’ve created. ![]() There is an additional value associated with a business, based on the reputation and goodwill the company has built over the years through brand awareness. Benefits of a Logo Trademark The value of an organization is not solely determined by the amount of money the business brings in. Just some thoughts we’ve come across while building brands. The hard part here will be securing a domain that aligns with your name and brand direction that is available for use. In this instance, having a name that’s similar isn’t the worst thing in the world. Now, say you’re in the widget business in the U.S., and another company is in the doodad business in Switzerland. See, if the other organization is within your immediate area, serving the same clientele, and working within the same industry, then using a name that’s exactly the same or similar is a big no-no. A common question that arises is whether you can use a business name that might already be in use by another organization. Another piece of this puzzle refers to the naming of your business. However, if you ever wanted to dispute another organization for using your likeness, your trademark would have to be registered with the U.S. In fact, if you’ve formed a business entity in your state, you’ve already registered with the state. Federal logo trademark registration is a bit more of a process. State registration will provide additional protection, and it’s relatively simple and inexpensive. But, according to LegalZoom, this may only protect you in your immediate locale. Should I Trademark My Logo? By common law, a logo is trademarked as soon as it’s used in commerce. We find these matters to get muddy sometimes, so it’s best to consult your legal team (or ours!) if you’re wondering which way you need to go here. There are some logos that contain an artistic element that would require protection under both the trademark and copyright provisions. So, most likely, you should be tossing around the term trademarking at this point. The United States Patent and Trademark Office indicates that a trademark protects "words, names, symbols, sounds or colors that distinguish goods and services from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods." This means that a company can register a trademark for its business name, slogans, logos and other items that essentially brand the product or company. This includes the name and logo for the organization. Trademarking is for items that help portray a company’s brand. ![]() Copyrighting pertains to literary works or artistic works. Both terms refer to the protection of intellectual property. Copyright You may have wondered what the appropriate term is as you’re debating the merits of whether you need to protect your logo. However, we advise our clients to work directly with an attorney (ours or theirs) to get the job done. When it’s imperative that a name or logo that we create be registered, we work with our logo trademark attorney partners to handle the initial research into the usability of a brand name or logo. For some of our larger clients, creating a name and logo that can be trademarked is key. As a branding agency, we utilize creative methods to develop names and brand marks for companies and organizations of all sizes. It’s just our take on trademarking, based on what we’ve found to be true throughout the course of our work. Let us preface this post by stating that nothing within the text below constitutes as legal advice. Getting a logo trademark seems difficult, but Nice Branding Agency has lots of experience on the subject. ![]()
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