Is a Logo a Trademark?
Question: Is a logo a trademark?
Answer: If your logo is used on product packaging or the top of your website to identify your company or services, it is a trademark that can be protected with a federal trademark registration.
It’s important to note that if you want to protect your logo as a trademark, you should typically file it separately from your brand’s name. This is because if you file your logo and name in the same application, you lose your protection if one aspect of the trademark changes.
For example, if you change your logo, then the registration for your name will also no longer be valid. If you want to ensure strong protection on your logo and name, it is usually a good idea to register them individually.
As a final note, you can sometimes apply for copyright protection on logos, but this only protects an exact copy of your logo from being used other places. It doesn’t prevent other individuals from making small alterations to your logo and then using it.
A trademark registration, on the other hand, protects you against anything that even looks similar to your logo, so it typically provides a much stronger protection.
Josh Gerben, Esq.
Josh Gerben, Esq. is the founder and principal of Gerben IP. In 2008, Mr. Gerben started the firm to provide high-quality trademark services at reasonable prices. Today, he is recognized by the World Trademark Review as a top trademark filer, having registered over 7,500 trademarks. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and may not be relied on as legal advice.
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