Logo Trademark Registration: A Step-By-Step Guide

If you’ve created a logo for your company, you’ve most likely spent a substantial amount of time and effort to produce a distinct, recognized, and memorable symbol that graphically symbolizes your firm’s product and ethos. That endeavor is valuable enough to warrant trademark protection.

This post will explain how to trademark a logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the levels of trademark protection and expenses.

Levels of trademark protection

If you’ve decided to trademark your logo, you need to follow a few further steps. First, consider the various levels of trademark protection available and which you want for your logo. The degree of protection will determine the cost and the particular actions required to trademark a logo.

Local trademarks

Essentially, trademark protection is divided into three tiers, the first of which is a local trademark.

When you start using your brand in ordinary commercial operations, you instantly gain some regional protections under common law. These rights become yours the first you use your logo in a business setting. For example, displaying the logo for the first time on your website does not qualify, but selling an item with your logo does.

You may have come across objects labeled with a TM (trademark, which is used for goods) or SM (service mark, which is used — as you might expect — for services), and these symbols indicate that someone has legal rights over that logo, phrase, etc.

These marks, however, do not imply that any state or federal agency gives such power; therefore, these enterprises are vulnerable to intellectual property infringement, in this case, trademark infringement, from anybody beyond their local region. Only the desired ® sign indicates that the receiver is the owner of a federally registered trademark, which provides legal protection, as will be discussed later.

As a result, the standard law trademark option is the least expensive but provides the least protection. You’d probably win a case against someone who stole your logo in your jurisdiction, but you might not have the same luck outside of it.

State trademarks

A state trademark is the next level of trademark protection.

If you want to do business just in one state, you should consider trademarking your logo in that state. These trademark applications are typically received by the secretary of state’s office where your firm operates, and registration grants you exclusive use of your logo inside that state.

Although it is a significantly less expensive and more straightforward process than a federal trademark filing, a state trademark restricts your rights to a particular geographical region. Their scope may vary depending on the state’s rules on the issue.

Federal trademarks

The final and most expensive method is to federally trademark your logo through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This article will bring you through the fundamentals of the process, including how to trademark a logo with the USPTO.

Remember that the USPTO procedure is exceedingly complicated and time-consuming. As a result, if you do not want to invest the time and effort required to finish this procedure on your own, you may choose to seek the support of an online legal agency or a trademark lawyer. These expert resources can guide you through the process, ensuring that your application is submitted appropriately and answering any relevant issues you may have.

Ultimately, despite the lengthy process of trademarking your logo with the USPTO, a federal trademark provides you with the most legal protection. If the USPTO approves your application, it will place your logo on Principal Register, granting you the following rights:

• Your logo will have legal ownership and exclusive usage in the United States.
• The opportunity to bring a business case in federal court against anybody who violates the abovementioned rights, as well as the authority to recover moral damages from any successful claims.
• Authorization to call US Customs and Border Protection and request that any illegal imports with your brand be confiscated.
• The right to register your trademark in additional countries and enjoy complete legal protection under their respective laws.
• The placement of the ® mark next to your logo.
• A federal trademark offers advantages. The larger your organization, the more likely you are to require and use these safeguards.

How to get a logo trademarked with the USPTO?

There’s nothing wrong with completing the federal trademark application yourself. Although the procedure is complicated, taking it one step at a time may make it much more doable.

Step 1: Ensure that your logo complies with USPTO rules.

The first step in learning how to trademark a logo is verifying that you satisfy the requirements for the USPTO application.

A prior application must not use any trademarked object or be too close to an existing trademark. A search of the trademark database on the USPTO’s website by you or your attorney can determine whether your logo is distinctive at the federal level.

One of the main reasons for the rejection of a trademark logo petition, according to the USPTO website, is the “likelihood of confusion” with another company, which the agency explains as follows: “One of the most common reasons for registration refusal is that there is a “likelihood of confusion” between the mark in the application and a previously registered mark or a pending application with an earlier filing date owned by another party. There is a risk of trademark confusion when the marks are so similar, and the goods and/or services for which they are used are so similar that consumers erroneously assume they come from the same source.”

The USPTO not only attempts to avoid confusion between logos and trademarks but also rejects any applications whose contents it considers objectionable. It may go without saying, but avoid using obscenities or making vulgar pictures.

The USPTO will also reject any petition that it believes to be deceptive. For example, if a logo, in the judgement of the USPTO, does not reflect the type of goods it purports to offer or is indicative of another kind of item entirely, the application will be rejected. It would be best if you kept in mind that the USPTO exists to safeguard the rights of company owners, but it is equally concerned with the customer experience.

Step 2: Categorize your product.

After you’ve confirmed that your logo meets USPTO rules, the following step is to classify your goods. When submitting your trademark application, you must detail the good(s) or service(s) that your logo represents.

The USPTO has designated 45 various classes into which your product or service may fall, including one for chemical items, another for cosmetics, and another for machinery and power-operated equipment.

The USPTO will refuse your petition if you do not correctly classify your product using the correct wording. Again, this is an area where parsing words is vital, and the counsel of a legal trademark expert may prove helpful.

Step 3: Submit a “specimen” showing how your logo is used.

After determining which class or classes your product belongs to, you must produce a “specimen.” To accept your application, the USPTO requires a commercial sample of your logo, known as a “specimen.”

Suppose your logo represents a physical product (rather than a service). In that case, an adequate specimen could include photographs of your logo on the actual item you sell, a picture of your product’s packaging or tags that feature your logo, or a photo of a physical display in a store that sells your goods prominently features your logo.

In general, your product specimen, like the standard law protections outlined above, must show the use of your logo in the monetary transaction between you and your customer — not only the use of your logo on your company materials.

As a result, commodities like brochures, catalogues, press releases, business cards, and other similar marketing materials are unlikely to act as ideal goods specimens since they do not indicate a reciprocal relationship with your audience.

If you are a service provider, the criteria for samples are a bit looser. Materials used to publicize your firm or in the course of everyday operations, as opposed to commodities, will suffice. Such products merely need to demonstrate a “direct link” between your logo and the services you provide and define the nature of those services.

A sign, invoice, stationery, or screenshots of a website where you provide your services are fine examples in this area, as long as the text above your logo clearly states the nature of your firm.

If your logo is linked with more than one item or service, you must submit a specimen for each and pay the relevant costs for each.

Step 4: Wait for a reply from the USPTO.

You’ve now finished most of the steps required to file your trademark application. After that, you should obtain immediate confirmation from the USPTO. However, it is possible that you will not hear from the agency for several months after then. In reality, the complete application procedure can take six months to a year, possibly more if complications develop.

In the interim, you may check the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval database to see where your application stands. You may get information about your petition by entering the serial number found on your original receipt. You may also view the current average application processing times.

You may be wondering why a trademark application takes so long to process. What’s going on behind the scenes:

• The USPTO first examines your application to confirm that you have completed the fundamental filing criteria. If you haven’t already, the agency will contact you.
• The USPTO then forwards your petition to an examining attorney. Your application may take many months to reach their desk.
• The examining attorney scrutinizes every aspect of your application. Their function is to determine whether you have completed all of the legal and procedural requirements for a valid petition. The attorney will double-check for the identical trademarks (as stated in step one above), determine if you’ve correctly categorized your product, decide whether or not you’ve supplied an adequate specimen, and confirm that you’ve included all necessary costs.

Your logo will be registered at the sole discretion of the examining attorney. Otherwise, the attorney will contact you. If the problems with your application are minimal, you may be contacted by phone or email. If your concerns are more serious, you will be sent an Office Action letter outlining the grounds for the refusal.

Step 5: Correct application errors, if any.

If the USPTO rejects your application because of an administrative or regulatory issue that you can fix, you will be given the option to do so. Suppose the government denies your petition due to an inherent defect in your logo or resemblance to an existing trademark or application. In that case, you’ll have to start the procedure all over again.

If you get an Office Action, you will have six months from the date of mailing to provide the desired adjustments, or your application will be marked as abandoned by the USPTO. Your application will be denied if your submission does not satisfy the examining attorney. If you like, you may appeal this refusal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), an administrative court within the USPTO. However, such an appeal will result in further costs.

If the examining attorney approves your application, your logo will be published in the Official Gazette. This rule is a remnant from before the internet, and it ostensibly alerts the public that your logo is about to become a registered trademark. Anyone who feels this registration has damaged them has 30 days to submit a complaint with the USPTO.

If no one registers (which is unlikely unless you’re a Fortune 500 firm), your logo becomes a federally registered trademark, with all of the rights and protections outlined above.

Step 6: Maintain your trademark rights.

You now understand how to trademark a logo, but after you have a registered trademark, you must take further steps.

To begin, you must file a Trademark Declaration of Continued Use and a Trademark Renewal to the USPTO every five years to preserve your protected status. If you fail to file this renewal, you will have a six-month grace period during which you can file — but this will incur additional expenses.

If you do not complete this paperwork thoroughly, the USPTO will consider your logo abandoned, and you will lose all legal intellectual property rights.As a result, you don’t want your registration renewal to fall between the cracks. It would be best if you also kept in mind that there is no limit to how many times you may renew your trademark as long as your logo is in commercial use.

Step 7: Enforce your protection against infringement.

Finally, many businesses do trademark searches to guarantee that no other company misuses their logo without their consent. This approach necessitates continual monitoring to protect against abuse of your mark and future USPTO filings for related logos. The larger your firm, the more likely you will require this service.

Typically, a corporation pays a law firm or another specialist entity to search for a trademark. Suppose they come across a logo identical to yours. In that case, these representatives will issue cease-and-desist letters and, if required, will participate in litigation to enforce your intellectual property, defending the purity of your brand.

If you’re a small firm, this step may not be essential; nonetheless, it’s always a good idea to keep a look out for trademark infringement and enforce your rights under trademark protection if you uncover one.

What is the cost of trademarking a logo?

Finally, the cost of the procedure will be determined by the amount of trademark protection you decide you require for your logo. If you choose a local shelter, only utilizing your logo in your immediate region, you will not have to pay for an official trademark application; nevertheless, this level provides little intellectual property protection. Even if you utilize the TM sign, it does not imply authorization from any state or federal government, making you more vulnerable to trademark infringement from other firms.

However, if you decide to register for a trademark for your logo inside your state, you will gain formal legal protection from the state, but at a fee. The actual payment will vary by state, but you can learn more about both the cost and the process by visiting the official website in your state. Trademark prices range from $30 in Alabama to $50 in New York to $70 in California, for example.

Regardless of the cost in your state, it will almost certainly be less than the cost of registering a trademark with the USPTO. Indeed, the USPTO explains that “nearly all trademark costs for any portion of the procedure are computed on a ‘per class basis’ for all specified products or services, which will make overall fees greater if goods or services fall in more than one class.”

There are two possibilities for the first application cost for submitting a trademark application electronically with the USPTO:

• TEAS Plus: $250.
• TEAS Standard: $350.

Although these are the standard fees for a USPTO trademark application, other elements such as the number of classes, the chosen choice, manner of filing (online vs paper), and fulfillment of requirements may all contribute to the ultimate cost.

If you file for a trademark for your logo, for example, and need to revise the application, it will cost an extra $100 per class. Similarly, the USPTO will charge you $100 to provide a new registration certificate.

Because of the high expense of a federal trademark application and the range of costs you may incur, it’s critical to ensure that you’re ready to trademark your logo and complete the application entirely and precisely.

As a result, many business owners prefer to hire a trademark lawyer or legal agency. On the other hand, a trademark lawyer will almost certainly be more expensive, charging anything from $1,000 to $2,000 for the entire application procedure, in addition to your filing expenses.

State trademarks