I find that many of my clients are often confused about how to best protect their brand. Although copyright registration can play a small part in protecting certain aspects of your brand, trademark registration is the best method for protection.
Brands are not typically eligible for copyright registration with the United States Copyright Office. Because brand names typically consist of single words, short phrases or logos, brands are best protected through the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. However, because certain logos can be considered original works of authorship that can be protected under copyright law, it may be possible to obtain copyright registration exclusively for your brand logo.
Copyright Protection extends to original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium. Technically, copyright protection affixes to such works as soon as they are fixed in a tangible medium. However, copyright registration provides many benefits such as the ability to sue for statutory damages, attorney’s fees and court costs. According to the Copyright Office, copyright registration is not available for single words, names, phrases or other short slogans. Because of this restriction most brands are best protected by trademark law.
Trademark Protection
Trademarks are intended to promote goodwill by helping consumers identify the particular origin of a good or service. Additionally, trademarks protect the reputation of companies by limiting use of particular brand names. A trademark does not need to be registered in order for a brand to gain recognition in the marketplace and common law rights. However, registration has several benefits such as the presumption of validity, the ability to sue in federal court and public notice of your claim on the federal register of trademarks.
Trademarking Your Brand
In order to trademark your brand you will need to complete an application with the USPTO. In your application you will need to provide the USPTO with your name and address, the name of your brand, a description of the goods or services your brand covers and an example of your brand name being used in commerce. Before attempting to trademark your brand you should perform a background search to make sure that the brand name is not already in use by a third party. As of 2013, the fee for filing an online trademark application is $275.
Copyrighting Your Logo
Brand logos that contain artistic elements are eligible for registration with the United States Copyright Office as works of visual art. In order to register your logo with the Copyright Office you will need to provide the Copyright Office with your name and address, the name of your logo, the date your logo was first published, a listing of any co-authors who helped develop the logo and a specimen of your logo. As of 2013, the fee for filing an online copyright application is $35.
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