Trademark a Name and Logo: Together or Separate?

Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry. Of course, it's necessary to research the mark comprehensively prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party.

Let's assume you've done your due diligence, had comprehensive research conducted and your name and logo are legally available. The next step is filing for a Federal trademark.

Now when it comes to filing, a big question is should the name and logo be filed together or separately?

This decision is going to depend on a number of circumstances, as with most things in the trademark world. Let's take some time to go through a few different scenarios:

1) Your comprehensive trademark research on the logo shows that it is legally available whereas the trademark research on the name shows a similar, not the same, name within a related, not the same, industry. Your trademark attorney may then advise you to file the name and logo together to ensure registration.

2) In showing your mark (e.g. advertising, web site, tags or labels, etc.), the logo is ALWAYS shown with the name but the name is sometimes shown without the logo. In this case, you may want to file two applications – the name and logo together AND the name alone.

3) The logo you're using is the crux of your brand and the name you're using is entirely descriptive of your goods/services. You may want to trademark your logo only OR trademark your logo alone AND trademark the name & logo together.

An important thing to keep in mind regardless of your particular situation is that whatever is filed with the USPTO is exactly how you should be using the mark. The USPTO wants to see your mark as you present it to your customers.

If you're not sure about your own name and logo, feel free to email me directly at Shannon@tmexpress.com.

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Guess the Logos, part 2

Okay, so I think I made Friday's test a bit too hard. Let's try this again. Guesses go in the comments section.

The first person to guess all 7 receives $50 off of our Premium Package.

Guess the Logos

Here's a fun to-do for Friday. The following image is an amalgamation of six famous logos. Can you guess them all? Answer in the comments.

The first person to guess all 6 receives $50 off of our Premium Package!

Breaking Down the Code

Last month we took a quick look at how to conduct a logo search at the USPTO. This month let's look closer at the USPTO Design Code Manual.

All designs have a 6-digit code, which the USPTO assigns to each filed design. The design search code system is very Dewey Decimal-esque in that each 2-digit section denotes a specific category. Let's take a look at a couple of famous examples:

First two digits, the Category: 02 = human beings

Next two digits, the Division: 05 = children

Last two digits, the Section: 01 = heads, portraiture, busts of children not in profile

The Gerber baby logo is categorized as 02.05.01

Now let's look at a design that contains several codes. This will illustrate just how complex filing a trademark for a logo can be, in terms of researching a logo and providing the correct description on the application to the USPTO.

Mr. Peanut, the logo and mascot of Planters Nuts is categorized into SEVEN different design codes:

02.01.32 - Astronauts (men); Frogmen; Men, other, including frogmen, men wearing space suits and men wearing monocles; Monocles (men wearing)
02.01.34 - Monsters (not robots); Other grotesque including men formed by plants or objects
04.07.02 - Objects forming a person; Person formed by objects
05.07.05 - Nuts (edible), With shells
09.05.02 - Top hats
10.03.02 - Canes, walking; Shepherds crook (staff); Walking sticks and canes
16.03.08 - Contact lenses; Lenses, optical, and spectacle; Monocles

So you can see even a seemingly simple design, a peanut figure wearing a top hat, cane and monocle has a very complex design labeling assigned to it.

Please see here for further details about our Federal Design Trademark search services.

Logo Search: Trudging through the USPTO

Searching for designs on the USPTO site is a bit tricky. I'll explain it step by step.

First, go to this link. This is the searchable design search code manual. Type in simple keywords that describe your logo. For instance, typing in telephone brings up the 6-digit codes for telephones, telephone poles, answering machines, etc. Make note of all the 6-digit codes relevant to your logo.

Second, go to this link. This is the main trademark hub page. From here you'll see 2 columns. Look at the right hand side for a link that's titled Search. Click on that.

Now click on Structured Form Search (boolean). In the first search term box, type in the 6-digit code, no spaces & no dots. Change the field to Design Code. Stopping here will likely result in too many hits to look at so let's use the rest of the search boxes to narrow it a bit.

Change the operator to AND. In the next search term box, choose one keyword that describes your goods/services, e.g. clothing, software, etc. Change the field to Goods & Services. Now click Submit Query.

You should then see a listing of marks that you can view in more detail.

I've been in the trademark field for 14 years & I do not recommend that anyone conduct this logo search & consider themselves to be done. There are so many nuances within the USPTO as well as with trademarks in general that the likelihood of missing something is high. However, I feel the above provides a good snapshot of how involved searching logos can be & is a nice primer for those folks interested in protecting their logo.

You've got to keep the USPTO's guidelines in mind. Logos need not necessarily be exact to be considered a similarity. They take into consideration things such as similarities in Appearance or Meaning as well as similarity in industry. Your logo may look like one definite thing to you but you have to emotionally detach yourself from it & see all the inherent possibilities. It's those possibilities that will also have to be searched.