Should You Protect a Logo With a Trademark, a Copyright, or Both?

A logo sits where two bodies of federal law overlap, and our main copyright and trademark law page explains how each system works. Trademark law asks whether the public sees the logo as identifying you. Copyright law asks whether the logo is original artwork. The Copyright Office puts the difference plainly: copyright "is not concerned with consumer confusion," and a design "may be distinctive in the trademark sense, even if it does not qualify as a work of original authorship in the copyright sense" (Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition, section 914.1). For a broader map of the different rights, see our post on copyright, trademarks, patents and trade secrets.

How to Protect a Logo, Step by Step

1. Get the copyright from the designer in writing. Copyright vests first in the author (17 U.S.C. 201(a)), and a transfer is valid only with a signed writing (17 U.S.C. 204(a)).
2. Separate the words from the artwork. The business name is a trademark question only; the drawn elements may also be copyrightable.
3. File a trademark application for the name. A standard character application covers the words in any font, style, size or color (TMEP 807.03, 1207.01(c)(iii)).
4. File a second application for the logo. A design or stylized logo needs a special form drawing (37 CFR 2.52(b); TMEP 807.04).
5. Register the artwork with the Copyright Office if it has enough creativity. Describe the pictorial or graphic authorship, not "logo" (Compendium 914.2).
6. Use the logo as a mark. It has to appear on the goods or in selling the services in a way that identifies you, which is what the USPTO checks in your specimen.
7. Keep the trademark alive. Federal registrations need maintenance filings on a fixed schedule (15 U.S.C. 1058, 1059).

What Does a Trademark Protect in a Logo?

Federal law defines a trademark as "any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof," used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish your goods from those of others and to indicate their source (15 U.S.C. 1127). A logo fits that definition easily. What matters is how it is used. The USPTO's examination manual says it is a threshold requirement that the matter function to "identify and distinguish" the applicant's goods and "indicate the source" (TMEP 1202).

Placement can defeat that. Matter that is merely decorative does not function as a trademark, and the manual's examples include words or designs used as decoration on goods (TMEP 1202.03). The manual says a large rendition across the front of a T-shirt may be perceived as merely decorative, while a small, neat design over a pocket may create the impression of a mark, though not in every case (TMEP 1202.03). If the USPTO rejects your proof of use, our page on what to do when a specimen is refused covers the fix. For logos on merchandise, each product category is its own class, as our page on trademark classes for merchandise explains.

Should You File the Name, the Logo, or Both?

The USPTO accepts two kinds of drawings. A standard character drawing claims words, letters or numbers "without claim to any particular font style, size, or color" (37 CFR 2.52(a); TMEP 807.03). A special form drawing is required for a mark that includes a design, color, or words in a particular style (37 CFR 2.52(b); TMEP 807.04). When a mark is registered in standard characters, the owner "is not limited to any particular depiction of the mark" (TMEP 1207.01(c)(iii)), so a standard character registration for the name follows it through every redesign.

A design registration protects the logo as drawn. That is its strength and its limit. The rule against material alteration bars amendments that change the essence of the mark as filed (TMEP 807.14), so a substantially redesigned logo usually needs a new application. Many owners file both: the name in standard characters as the core right, and the logo as a special form mark once the design is settled. Each application costs $350 per class in USPTO fees, and our page on what a federal trademark costs from filing to renewal adds up the maintenance fees over ten years.

When Can a Logo Be Copyrighted?

Copyright covers "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works," which include two-dimensional works of fine, graphic and applied art (17 U.S.C. 101, 102(a)(5)). The Copyright Office will register artwork used as a trademark, logo or label if it embodies "some creative authorship in its delineation or form" (37 CFR 202.10(a)), and it does not consider whether the design has been or can be registered at the USPTO (Compendium 914.1).

Many logos fall below that line. The Office says it typically refuses logos that consist only of wording; mere scripting or lettering, with or without uncopyrightable ornamentation; handwritten words or signatures, "regardless of how fanciful they may be"; mere placement of elements; or ordinary use of color, frames, borders, fonts or font sizes (Compendium 914.1). Its Circular 33 adds that names of businesses, products and services, slogans, and typefaces are not protected, and that familiar symbols such as stars, hearts, arrows and common shapes, or a simple combination of a few of them, cannot be registered. For a slogan, the trademark route is covered on our page about trademarking a slogan, catchphrase or hashtag. One Compendium example: two letters linked in a mirror image with two more letters set perpendicular to them was refused for insufficient creativity.

A logo with real drawn artwork, such as an illustrated character or a detailed emblem, can qualify. The Office tells applicants to describe the pictorial or graphic authorship itself, using a word such as "drawing" (Circular 33), and to avoid vague terms such as "logo," "mark" or "symbol" (Compendium 914.2). The electronic fee is $45 for a Single Application (one work by one author who is also the claimant, not made for hire) or $65 for a Standard Application. Our page on copyright registration cost and processing time explains which form fits.

Who Owns a Logo a Freelancer Designed?

The freelancer does, as to copyright, unless something in writing says otherwise. Copyright "vests initially in the author" (201(a)). A work made for hire belongs to the hiring party (201(b)), but outside employment that applies only to nine kinds of commissioned works listed in the statute, with a signed written agreement (17 U.S.C. 101). A logo is not on that list. So the business needs an assignment, which is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights or the owner's authorized agent (17 U.S.C. 204(a)). Our page on work made for hire versus assignment covers the contract language. Our page on why a copyright assignment has to be in writing covers what happens without one.

The trademark side works differently. The USPTO explains that common-law trademark rights come from using the mark in commerce, so the business that uses the logo to sell goods or services builds the trademark rights, not the designer who drew it. That is why an unassigned copyright is the weak link: the designer could still object to copies of the artwork. Once you have the assignment, recording it with the Copyright Office is voluntary but useful, and electronic recording starts at a $95 base fee; see our page on recording a copyright assignment.

How Is Each Right Enforced?

A trademark claim turns on confusion. A registered owner can act against use of a copy or colorable imitation that is likely to cause confusion (15 U.S.C. 1114), and an unregistered owner can rely on 15 U.S.C. 1125(a). A competitor does not have to copy your artwork; a different drawing of a similar mark on related goods can be enough, as our page on how the USPTO decides likelihood of confusion shows.

A copyright claim turns on copying. The owner has the exclusive rights to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works and display it publicly (17 U.S.C. 106), and anyone who violates those rights is an infringer (17 U.S.C. 501(a)). Confusion is irrelevant, so copyright can reach a copy of your artwork used on unrelated products, where trademark law may not. For a U.S. work, though, no infringement suit can be filed until the copyright is registered or registration is refused (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).

What Changes the Answer

• A wordmark logo. If the logo is just your name in a font, copyright likely adds nothing (Compendium 914.1), and a standard character trademark application is the main protection.
• A detailed illustration. Original drawn artwork can support a copyright registration in addition to a special form trademark application.
• An employee designer. A work prepared by an employee within the scope of employment is a work made for hire, owned by the employer (17 U.S.C. 101, 201(b)).
• Stock or template elements. Material you did not create or acquire cannot be claimed, and familiar symbols are not protected (Circular 33).
• A planned redesign. A special form filing covers the logo as drawn, and an application cannot be amended in a way that materially alters the mark (TMEP 807.14), so a standard character filing for the name protects through changes.
• Decorative use only. A logo used only as ornamentation may not function as a mark (TMEP 1202.03).

A Worked Example

Common Mistakes

• Paying a designer without a signed assignment. Paying for the work does not transfer the copyright (17 U.S.C. 204(a)).
• Filing only the logo. A design registration does not follow the name through a redesign; a standard character filing does.
• Trying to copyright a name or wordmark. The Copyright Office refuses wording and mere lettering.
• Describing the claim as "logo." The Office asks applicants to describe the actual pictorial or graphic authorship (Compendium 914.2).
• Using the logo only as a large decorative print. Decoration alone may not function as a trademark (TMEP 1202.03).
• Building on stock art or a common symbol. You cannot claim material you did not create, and familiar shapes are not protected.

What to Do This Week

1. Find the designer's contract or invoice and check for a signed copyright assignment.
2. If there is none, ask the designer to sign one now, while the relationship is good.
3. Save the final logo files and the drafts with their dates.
4. Decide which version of the logo you will keep using, and list the goods and services it appears on.
5. Search the USPTO’s records for similar names and designs before filing.
6. Budget for a standard character application, a special form application, and a copyright application if the artwork qualifies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Copyright Registration Give You Trademark Rights?

No. The Copyright Office's rule says a copyright registration does not give the claimant rights available through USPTO trademark registration (37 CFR 202.10(b)). The two filings are separate.

Can You Copyright a Logo Made of Your Initials?

Usually not. Letters alone cannot be registered, and the Office refused a logo of linked and mirrored letters for insufficient creativity (Compendium 914.1). Initials can still work as a trademark if they identify you.

Do You Need the Copyright to Register the Trademark?

They are separate rights. The trademark application is filed by the owner of the mark used in commerce (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)), which is the business using it. But an unassigned copyright leaves the designer able to object to copies of the artwork, so get the assignment either way.

Can You Use the ® Symbol Next to a Copyrighted Logo?

Not unless the mark is federally registered. The ® notice is for marks registered in the USPTO (15 U.S.C. 1111). A copyright registration does not allow it.

How Long Does Trademark Protection for a Logo Last?

As long as you keep using it and file the maintenance documents. A federal registration stays in force for ten-year terms if the required declarations and renewals are filed (15 U.S.C. 1058, 1059).

Does Changing the Colors Create a New Logo?

It can. The USPTO's material alteration test asks whether the new form keeps the essence of the original and creates the impression of being essentially the same mark (TMEP 807.14). A change that fails that test calls for a new application.

Zala IP Law prepares trademark and copyright filings and designer assignments for businesses and creators across the United States and internationally. If you have a new logo or an old one with unclear ownership, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701, and bring the logo files and whatever contract you have with the designer.