Why Register Your Logo?
Logo registration with the USPTO provides federal protection for your visual brand identity. A registered logo trademark gives you the exclusive nationwide right to use that design (and confusingly similar designs) in connection with your goods and services, the legal presumption of validity in any enforcement action, the right to use the ® symbol with your logo, and the ability to prevent importation of goods bearing infringing logos through U.S. Customs.
What You Need for Logo Registration
To register your logo, you will need a clear, high-resolution image of the logo in the format you intend to register, a description of the goods and services the logo is used (or will be used) in connection with, a specimen showing the logo in use in commerce (for use-based applications), and information about when you first used the logo in commerce (or confirmation that you intend to use it). Our attorney handles the rest — including determining the correct filing format, design codes, and classification.
Logo Registration Cost
A single logo registration through our Package 1 is $2,499 plus the USPTO filing fee ($250 or $350 per class). If you also want to register your business name as a separate word mark, Package 2 covers both marks for $4,500 — a savings of $499 versus filing them individually. All packages include a comprehensive clearance search with design mark analysis.
Word Mark or Logo: Which to Register First
These are separate applications protecting different things, and the sequence has real consequences.
A standard character (word) mark protects the words themselves in any font, size, color, or styling. It is the broader and more flexible right, and it survives a rebrand of your visual identity.
A design or composite mark protects the specific visual presentation as filed. Redesign the logo and the registration's value degrades, because it covers what you submitted.
For most businesses the word mark is the priority. Register the logo in addition when the design is independently distinctive and recognizable without the words — the kind of mark customers identify at a glance. Filing both is two applications and two government fees per class, which is a budget decision worth making deliberately.
Trademark and Copyright Both Apply to a Logo
A logo can be protected by both regimes at once, and they cover different things:
- Trademark protects the logo as an indicator of commercial source. It prevents competitors from using confusingly similar marks on related goods. It lasts indefinitely with use and maintenance.
- Copyright protects the logo as an original artistic work. It prevents copying of the artwork itself, regardless of commercial use, and it arises automatically on creation.
One practical trap: if a contractor or freelancer designed your logo, they may own the copyright unless a written assignment says otherwise. Commissioning and paying for design work does not automatically transfer copyright ownership under U.S. law. Getting a signed assignment is a five-minute fix at the start and a serious problem later.