How to Copyright a Logo

Creating a Copyright Notice

Make your logo sufficiently creative. You can’t use copyright to protect names, colors or existing works of others. For example, you can’t copyright familiar symbols or typographical ornamentation. To qualify for copyright protection, your logo must be sufficiently original and creative that it could qualify for a copyright as an artwork. For example, the NFL Baltimore Ravens were able to get copyright protection for the image of a raven, which was found to be sufficiently creative. You also can’t copy someone else’s logo, so research whether the logo has already been used as a trademark on goods in commerce or registered. Search the U.S. Copyright Office website. Include “logo” as a search term. You may also search state, federal, international and private databases for trademarks having specific characteristics that might match your proposed logo. The vast majority of copyright owners do not actually register their ownership.

Affix the copyright symbol. The copyright symbol is the letter C within a circle, like this: ©. You can also type “Copyright” or “Copr.” Include the symbol on the logo or right beside it. Copyright notice on works published in the USA has been completely optional since 1989.

Add the date of publication, if applicable. Use the date your logo was first created or published. For example, if you created the logo in 2015, then use that date. If you haven’t used the logo yet, be sure to write “Unpublished Work” before the copyright symbol.

Identify who holds the copyright. The creator of the logo artwork initially owns the copyright. They may have transferred their rights to others. Include the name of the copyright holder. You can also use an abbreviation or generally known alternative designation. Unless your business owns the copyright, use your legal name. A complete copyright notice will read like the following: “Copyright 2017 Jill Anderson.” If the logo was unpublished, then the notice will read: “Unpublished Work Copyright 2017 Jill Anderson.”

Consider registering your copyright. As the copyright holder, you can prevent other people from reproducing your logo or distributing or displaying copies of the logo to the public. However, you must register your US copyright on a US work with the US Copyright Office in the Library of Congress before you can bring a lawsuit for illegal copying (infringement) in a U.S. court. This requirement applies to U.S. copyrights. Copyright on foreign works may be enforceable in the US courts, not to mention in other countries, without having to be registered in the USA, according to multi-lateral treaties. Even if you do not register your copyright, you may have other enforceable rights, such as trademark priority, and you may use a DMCA takedown request to stop others who are using your copyrighted works online (in the USA).

Registering Your Copyright

Register online. It’s cheaper and faster to register your copyright online through the Electronic Copyright Office portal. You’ll pay a lower filing fee and have your copyright processed faster. You can pay with a credit card, debit card, or electronic check. You’ll need to create a user ID and password before you can register online. You must submit copies of your logo artwork to the Copyright Office as part of your application. Generally, you can do this online, though you may have to mail copies to the office instead, using cross references to your online filing.

Use the paper application instead. You may still register your copyright using Visual Form VA (for "visual arts", including pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works). You can download it from the Copyright Office website. Enter your information directly into the digital form or neatly print your information on a hard copy. Complete instructions are provided with the form. If you have a question, call 202-707-3000 or toll-free at 1-877-476-0778.

Submit your application electronically or by mail or by courier. Make a copy of your application and submit it along with your deposit copy to Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20559. If your logo has been published, include two deposit copies. Only one copy of an unpublished logo is required. The fee schedule changes regularly, so check the Copyright website to find out the current fee. Make your check or money order payable to Register of Copyrights. All payments must be in U.S. dollars. You won’t be notified when your mailed paper application has been received. Send it certified mail, return receipt requested if you want written notification. In contrast, once the online application has been submitted, the Office automatically issues an email confirming that the application has been received. Your "effective date of registration" is the date upon which the Copyright Office receives a completed application, the necessary fees and the required deposit copies. You will be notified if the copyright examiners find problems with your application and you will generally be allowed a limited time in which to reply to such notices.

Receive your certificate of registration. Generally, it can take six months or longer for your application to be processed. Electronic submissions are processed about two months faster. If you filed electronically, you may also use your application number to check its status periodically, using the electronic copyright office portal.

Protecting Your Logo as a Trademark

Obtain trademark rights to protect your logo indefinitely. In the U.S.A., trademark protection lasts as long as you have not abandoned your trademark rights or the brand remains associated with your particular goods or services. In contrast, copyright protection lasts for "a limited time". This is currently defined by an individual author’s lifetime plus 70 years (or, up to 120 years for a "work made for hire"). Copyright then expires and the work becomes "public domain". For this reason, you might want to get the benefits of trademark protection. A trademark is a phrase, word, symbol, design or combination that identifies the source of goods or services, and distinctive logos may qualify. Trademark protection isn’t as broad as copyright protection. For example, trademark rights won’t prevent other people from using something similar to your logo if they are selling different goods or services. It helps to consult with a trademark attorney if you're thinking about getting a trademark for your logo.

Check for similar trademarks. This is known as "clearing" your brand. You cannot legally use or register a logo that is “confusingly similar” to an existing trademark. You may do a preliminary search of the Trademark Electronic Search System database for free.. Consult the online Design Code Search Manual for which codes to search for specific design elements (e.g., stars, loops, animals). As a shortcut, you could use the "free form search" to find similar logos (and display the designs) and then copy the relevant element codes to search for additional related designs. You may also want to search state trademark registrations as well as various privately operated databases for non-registered trademarks related to your field of use. You or your trademark attorney may also hire a professional search firm to produce a clearance search report. As a general rule, legal "similarity" of brands is judged according to the appearance, sound and meaning of both brands, when taken in their entirety. However, similarity of the brands themselves is only one of many factors of "likelihood of confusion". For example, a design of a ship's anchor and the word "anchor" may be deemed "identical" elements of trademarks being compared, but may be overcome by other dominant elements that are clearly distinguishable. On the other hand, generic elements may have little effect upon comparative distinctiveness. Even identical brands might be allowed in use or registration if they are used to mark different and unrelated goods or services. In that situation, the similar marks won’t create confusion in the mind of the consumers. For example, “Delta” is used by both Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets. By itself, such a common brand, in use by many others, is considered weak. Pay particular attention to any registrations (or pending applications) you find in the same classification of any of your goods or services. You should be extremely careful to "clear" your logo to the best of your ability before filing a federal trademark application. Anyone finding your application online can immediately sue you, if they feel your brand is confusingly similar to theirs and that your use may damage their rights, even if theirs is not already registered.

Apply for trademark protection. The USPTO prefers that you register your trademark online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). You can pay the fee, upload a drawing and a specimen of actual use of your logo online. There is a tutorial available to walk you through the process. Under US trademark laws, you aren’t required to register your trademark. Instead, you can gain substantial trademark rights by using the logo in connection with the packaging and marketing of goods or services. However, there are many advantages to registration. It provides the public with notice that you claim ownership of the trademark, and you may need to register in the USPTO before you can sue in federal court. Federal registration gives you a presumption of nationwide priority over others who might start using similar brands after your official filing date. State registration gives you priority over confusingly similar brands later used within that jurisdiction, if not beyond. At the very least a state or federal trademark registration will more quickly turn up when others are searching for similar brands, in the process of verifying clearance for their own newly proposed logos. As a fringe benefit, the USPTO examiners may automatically reject applications filed later by others if their logo is deemed "confusingly similar" to yours, provided you maintain your federal registration in good standing. A federal registration opens the door to simplify filings for further international registrations, if that is something you may need in the future, using the Madrid Protocol. Trademark registration fees are generally tied to how you file and how many classifications of goods or services are described in your application. The current list of filing fees is available online at the USPTO. State trademark registration fees are generally much less than the USPTO fees and processing is usually much simpler and faster than federal registration.

Use the appropriate designation. Once you have received federal registration for the trademark, then include the federal registration symbol: the letter R inside a circle: ®. However, if you haven’t registered it in the USPTO yet, then use either “TM” for a trademark or “SM” for a service mark. Use your logo consistently in connection with the marketing of your goods or services. If you don’t, you can lose your trademark rights. Do not use ® on goods or services that fall outside the scope of the description included in your federal registration. Do not submit an application specimen showing you are illegally using ® on your logo prior to registration.

Receive your registration and maintain it in good standing. After your application passes initial review for registration, the USPTO will publish your trademark and description of goods and services in the weekly Official Gazette. If there is no public opposition filed within 30 days, your registration will be issued and you will receive your certificate. Because of the high volume of applications, it might take a year or more to receive approval, even if no opposition is filed. Whether registered in a state or in the USPTO, your registration will require filing periodic maintenance fees to keep the registration active. In the USPTO the first maintenance fees (and declarations of continued use) are due five years after your registration is granted. Renewal fees occur every ten years in the USPTO, but may be annual or every five or ten years in the various states. Even if you let your registration lapse, you may retain your other non-registered rights for as long as you continue to use your logo and protect it from misuse by others. If your product line expands, you should consider filing for additional registrations to cover those goods or services, if you want the benefits of registration. The filing fees are generally the same whether you file separately for each class of goods or file for registration of all classes in one application.