Every business must have a logo to represent their company, what they are about and what they do. But before you send your logo into the market, you have to be mindful of how to keep it protected. The design and your business must be protected via correct use of the trademark law. As you go through the whole process of trademarking your logo, you should be aware of certain crucial aspects. This read will help you understand all such matters. Just roll down to know more!
What is Meant By a Trademark?
A trademark is basically a symbol be it a word, slogan, logo, image, or a combination of them that connects the product with its maker, i.e. the company. It is the trademark that is instantly recognized by the people and is known as the identifier of the source of the product. It is necessary that your trademark is distinctive and must not be similar to another mark.
What Comes Under a Trademark Protection?
The central objective of the trademark is to protect the identity of a business in a marketplace. Just take the example of Adidas shoes; the three white stripes indicate that the shoes are manufactured by the Adidas Company. Suppose if someone also creates shoes with two white strips, people will misunderstand it with Adidas shoes and this will result in Adidas losing money in addition to losing the customer confidence if the shoes are inferior in quality. Therefore, it is necessary that your infringing company must use a different trademark for their products.
The Logo Can Be Your Trademark
The trademark for your logo is owned by the business owner. Your logo becomes a trademark when you start using it on your labels, product packaging and the product itself. A trademark terminal is something that is recognized by the audience.
Benefits of Registering a Logo as a Trademark
Once your trademark is placed in the commercial market, the rights for it begins with it. It means that when you advertise your product through your logo, the logo will be seen as a trademark in the eyes of the law. But it is necessary to officially get your trademark registered due to the following benefits that it holdsĖ
- Once your logo is trademarked, you as an owner will get the right to sue against the registrants using a confusing or closely similar trademark to that of yours.
- You are allowed to ask the border protection and U.S. customs to confiscate any imported goods that are infringing and counterfeiting.
- You will be qualified even in other countries to get trademark protection.
- You can even bring an infringement lawsuit to the federal court rather than the state court.
- You will be eligible to win an award trademark on a national level for presumptive ownership.
The Logo Must Be Distinctive To Get Registered
If you think that any of your logo design is eligible for trademark registration, then you are wrong. Even though there are thousands of trademarks that are approved by the patent office, you might not be eligible to get the approval based upon how distinctive your logo is. If your mark is too similar to an already existing trademark it will cause you problems. For this reason, one has to carry out a trademark public search in order to fully ensure that your logo is completely unique and is not similar to any existing mark.
Furthermore, it should be kept in mind that a logo must not be offensive or misleading; otherwise, it will not get approval. Similarly, the logos that are sound alike and look alike to confuse the customers must also be avoided.
The Logo Trademark Must Be Unique
The whole point of getting a trademark for your logo is to distinguish your brand from others. Therefore, it is necessary to design a logo that is distinctive to create a strong impression on the audience. When you get a strong trademark, you will be easily distinguished in the market and will also be protected by law. The strong trademarks are usually arbitrary or fanciful.
Windup
As you go through the read you might have got a clear view of what actually is a trademark, why you should trademark your logo, what benefits it brings and what points should be kept in mind while getting a trademark for your logo. All you need to create a distinctive logo to trademark it and then you can enjoy business protection by law, in addition, to get immense recognition and reputation in the public eye.
