Your logo is two kinds of property

A logo sits where two systems overlap. Copyright protects it as an original drawing. Trademark law protects it as a sign that tells customers who sells the goods.

Copyright: the drawing

Copyright arises automatically, but only for original expression. A name set in a typeface, a plain circle or a short slogan usually is not enough. The US Copyright Office refuses words, short phrases and typefaces as such. A distinctive illustrated mark can qualify.

Protection runs for the author's life plus 70 years in the US and EU, or 95 years from publication for work made for hire in the US.

Trademark: the signal

A trademark protects the logo's job: identifying the source of goods or services. It covers confusingly similar marks, not only copies. A rival with a different drawing that customers would still mistake for yours can infringe.

Rights grow from use and are strongest when registered. Registration is per country or region and per class:

• Nice classes. Offices group goods and services into 45 classes: 34 for goods, 11 for services. File in the classes you sell in.
• Renewal. A US registration lasts 10 years at a time, with a declaration of continued use due between years 5 and 6. EU trade marks renew every 10 years with no limit.
• Use it or lose it. Most offices let others cancel a mark left unused for 3 to 5 years.

One filing, many countries

Through WIPO's Madrid System you can extend a home application to more than 130 countries with one filing. Each designated office still examines the mark under its own law.

What to keep on record

• The original artwork and its creation date.
• Every application and registration number, office, classes and renewal date.
• A link to the official record, so anyone can check it.

Our register pages hold each of these, with a direct link to the office that issued the record.

This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation.