Copyright or Trademark?? For a Graphic logo I designed for my Company....

so a search on google just makes things more "Gray" and obscure so i thought id ask u guys

ive created a graphic logo.... would a trademark or a copyright be best for this?

i read that if you have a company slogan or a unique company name you should trademark it ...but how about a graphic design logo?

why would someone pick a copyright over a trademark it seems like a trademark is more comprehensive? someone correct me if im wrong please

MacNewbie said:

so a search on google just makes things more "Gray" and obscure so i thought id ask u guys

ive created a graphic logo.... would a trademark or a copyright be best for this?

i read that if you have a company slogan or a unique company name you should trademark it ...but how about a graphic design logo?

why would someone pick a copyright over a trademark it seems like a trademark is more comprehensive? someone correct me if im wrong please

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Doesn't Copyright mean you own the content as well as the design and trademark just mean you own the image as its your brand or a brand you designed the image for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark

Generally speaking, you'd trademark a graphic mark in order to protect your [client's?] identity.

A logo would generally come under copyright law

okay so one person saying trademark it
another saying copyright it

and another saying

"Doesn't Copyright mean you own the content as well as the design and trademark just mean you own the image as its your brand or a brand you designed the image for"

whichi s basically the same thing????

now im even more confused.

any1 else? lol

It definitely falls under copyright as it is a creative work. Now, if you created it for a client who specifically requested to keep all rights to the logo (i.e. work-for-hire), in that case your client owns the copyright and not you.

Copyright protection gives you a whole slew of protections. Plus, it lasts the entire life of the copyright owner, plus an additional 70 years. Benefit of copyright is that it's ridiculously simple to obtain one.

A trademark is a symbol used by a person in commerce to indicate the source of the goods/service. Your graphic logo could also fall under trademark if it identifies a company that sells a good or service. Some examples of companies that have trademarked logos: Apple (both the name and the bitten apple), Coca-Cola, Nike (both the name and the swoosh), and eBay.

However, unlike copyright, you have to register a trademark. There are a variety of steps involved and the application costs money. Then on top of that, you have to enforce your trademark, otherwise you run the risk of losing your trademark.

Oh and I should mention, I'm a third year law student specializing in Intellectual Property ;P

You know what's interesting? That words have specific meanings.

You could have easily discovered the difference between "copyrighting" something and "trademarking" something simply by looking up what those words actually mean in either a dictionary or the online equivalent thereof. Or Wikipedia for that matter.

Indeed, I typed in "what's the difference between copyright and trademark" into Google and look what happened:
What Is the Difference Between a Copyright, Trademark, and Patent?

Whaddya know. First hit. Followed by 30 more just like it.

These are the days of miracle and wonder.

MacNewbie said:

why would someone pick a copyright over a trademark it seems like a trademark is more comprehensive? someone correct me if im wrong please

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chas_m said:

You could have easily discovered the difference between "copyrighting" something and "trademarking" something simply by looking up what those words actually mean in either a dictionary or the online equivalent thereof. Or Wikipedia for that matter.

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Yes they could have. They tried and failed.

MacNewbie said:

so a search on google just makes things more "Gray" and obscure so i thought id ask u guys

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That is why they posted the question here.
Isnt this the main reason as to why we have forums ?? To ask those questions that *once GOOGLED* and still dont have the answer you want ....... Yadda Yadda Yadda ??

I think so anyways ....
Oh sh1t hang on, i might google that and get a answer than ask you guys ....

MacNewbie said:

okay so one person saying trademark it
another saying copyright it

and another saying

"Doesn't Copyright mean you own the content as well as the design and trademark just mean you own the image as its your brand or a brand you designed the image for"

whichi s basically the same thing????

now im even more confused.

any1 else? lol

Click to expand...

Ok here's the best advice you're going to get...

If this is for a business and you're serious about protecting it, consult an intellectual property attorney.

The rules vary by jurisdiction and the best option may depend on what the logo is as well as how it's used and what industry you're in. They can also keep you out of trouble trying to register something that can't be protected.

In the end, relying on an answer someone gives you here in this forum for something like trademarking or copywriting your IP isn't really smart.

schweb said:

Ok here's the best advice you're going to get...

If this is for a business and you're serious about protecting it, consult an intellectual property attorney.

The rules vary by jurisdiction and the best option may depend on what the logo is as well as how it's used and what industry you're in. They can also keep you out of trouble trying to register something that can't be protected.

In the end, relying on an answer someone gives you here in this forum for something like trademarking or copywriting your IP isn't really smart.

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I am 18 years old. i am a broke student.

i can't really afford an intellectual property lawyer so i have to make an educated decision based on info i find online.

chas_m said:

You know what's interesting? That words have specific meanings.

You could have easily discovered the difference between "copyrighting" something and "trademarking" something simply by looking up what those words actually mean in either a dictionary or the online equivalent thereof. Or Wikipedia for that matter.

Indeed, I typed in "what's the difference between copyright and trademark" into Google and look what happened:
What Is the Difference Between a Copyright, Trademark, and Patent?

Whaddya know. First hit. Followed by 30 more just like it.

These are the days of miracle and wonder.

Click to expand...

thanks for your very sarcastic and facetious "help".

your article is pretty much the same as every other article ive read online...

it's completely overlapping and vague.

they say with a copyright u can write an article and copyright your writing, but it wont prevent someone from writing about the same subject.

Okay?

so contrarily if you were to trademark your article does that mean nobody else can write about the same subject?

it also says if you register a trademark for a logo/name for a certain product it cannot prevent other companies from making that same product under a different name.....

Okay?

so contrarily if you were to copyright your logo/name does that meananother company can make the same product under a different name but with the same logo?


I feel like these articles are written to generate ad dollars for the hosting site by people who search for "copyright vs trademark" and are not actually deisgned to help people.... the articles are not really clear & still leaves many many many gray areas..

thats why i posted on the forum.

if everyone used google instead of posting on the forums there would be no forum have you ever thought about that?

okay.

Kash said:

It definitely falls under copyright as it is a creative work. Now, if you created it for a client who specifically requested to keep all rights to the logo (i.e. work-for-hire), in that case your client owns the copyright and not you.

Copyright protection gives you a whole slew of protections. Plus, it lasts the entire life of the copyright owner, plus an additional 70 years. Benefit of copyright is that it's ridiculously simple to obtain one.

A trademark is a symbol used by a person in commerce to indicate the source of the goods/service. Your graphic logo could also fall under trademark if it identifies a company that sells a good or service. Some examples of companies that have trademarked logos: Apple (both the name and the bitten apple), Coca-Cola, Nike (both the name and the swoosh), and eBay.

However, unlike copyright, you have to register a trademark. There are a variety of steps involved and the application costs money. Then on top of that, you have to enforce your trademark, otherwise you run the risk of losing your trademark.

Oh and I should mention, I'm a third year law student specializing in Intellectual Property ;P

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Thank you very very much for your insightful post!

Since ur a law student maybe you will know the answer to this...

1.) you say "A trademark is a symbol used by a person in commerce to indicate the source of the goods/service" ....doesnt a copyright fall under this definition as well? if i copyright my logo doesn't this indicate that this logo is mine and won't a copyright prevent other companies or people from replicating my logo or anything that even bears resemblance to my logo to sell their products?


2.) are you saying that copyright cannot be used in commerce? in short is trademark for = a big company and copyright= a small company???

Im still very confused if you can clear this up for me because it still seems to me that there is alot of overlap

MacNewbie said:

I am 18 years old. i am a broke student.

i can't really afford an intellectual property lawyer so i have to make an educated decision based on info i find online.

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Ok, in this case copyright is the answer. Trademark are something more related to big brand names

MacNewbie said:

I am 18 years old. i am a broke student.

i can't really afford an intellectual property lawyer so i have to make an educated decision based on info i find online.

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Well unfortunately, that's the only way you know you've done it right. Everywhere you live the rules are different, every business type is different, every piece of IP is different.

If you're only 18 and don't have enough for a lawyer, I'm going to go out on a limb and say whatever it is you're trying to do is probably not worth the time or trouble at this point to go through the hassle.

If your idea is so wonderful that it is worth it, find someone to invest money for you to see a lawyer.

chas_m said:

Whaddya know. First hit. Followed by 30 more just like it.

These are the days of miracle and wonder.

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Quit being like that ok. It's just not needed. If you want to help, sure help the person. If not then don't. But don't help and add in some snide remarks like this. From my point of view it's just rude and uncalled for.

the8thark said:

Quit being like that ok. It's just not needed. If you want to help, sure help the person. If not then don't. But don't help and add in some snide remarks like this. From my point of view it's just rude and uncalled for.

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thank u for that.!

schweb said:

Well unfortunately, that's the only way you know you've done it right. Everywhere you live the rules are different, every business type is different, every piece of IP is different.

If you're only 18 and don't have enough for a lawyer, I'm going to go out on a limb and say whatever it is you're trying to do is probably not worth the time or trouble at this point to go through the hassle.

If your idea is so wonderful that it is worth it, find someone to invest money for you to see a lawyer.

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and if its just a simple logo ?

does anyone on here have any concrete about what to do regarding a company logo?

MacNewbie said:

and if its just a simple logo ?

does anyone on here have any concrete about what to do regarding a company logo?

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My point still stands. I think the fact you haven't gotten a concrete answer kind of gives you a hint about what I said.

MacNewbie said:

Thank you very very much for your insightful post!

Since ur a law student maybe you will know the answer to this...

1.) you say "A trademark is a symbol used by a person in commerce to indicate the source of the goods/service" ....doesnt a copyright fall under this definition as well? if i copyright my logo doesn't this indicate that this logo is mine and won't a copyright prevent other companies or people from replicating my logo or anything that even bears resemblance to my logo to sell their products?

Click to expand...

Copyright covers artistic works. So when you copyright a logo, you're essentially copyrighting the design of the logo and will be preventing anybody else from using that design.

2.) are you saying that copyright cannot be used in commerce? in short is trademark for = a big company and copyright= a small company???

Im still very confused if you can clear this up for me because it still seems to me that there is alot of overlap

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That is not what I'm saying. Copyrights and trademarks can be used by anybody for any legitimate purpose. They're not mutually exclusive, so you can have both a copyright and a trademark if you so decide. It would actually be a good idea to get both as you will have two layers of protection.

MacNewbie said:

and if its just a simple logo ?

does anyone on here have any concrete about what to do regarding a company logo?

Click to expand...

Most companies simply get trademarks for their company logo since the logo serves as a identifier for a source of goods or services. However, since you designed the logo from scratch, I can see why you might want to protect the artwork itself, and so you should also get a copyright.

Keep in mind getting a copyright is dirt cheap, getting a trademark will cost you a bit of money and will take some time to get approved. However, trademark protections are far more comprehensive than copyright protections. Get both and you should technically have access to both protections so if it came down to litigation, you will have more causes of action to pursue.

schweb said:

My point still stands. I think the fact you haven't gotten a concrete answer kind of gives you a hint about what I said.

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He did get a clear, concise answer about what the difference is between a copyright and a trademark, actually.