trademarking a logo design
TRANSCRIPT
This workbook was createdby MPWR Business Club
Member Grace Abell.
Grace Abell is a graphicdesigner in York. She hasjust launched a creativestudio and currently has
openings for your brandingand communication design
projects.
While a licence for copyright will be alreadyarranged between the designer and yourself,trademarking your logo is your responsibility.
It’s not a legal obligation to register a trademark,but it can certainly help, especially in cases whena competitor’s brand is too close for comfort.
Additionally, you’ll be able to place the ® symbolalongside your logo, which signifies that the useof your logo design is yours alone.
You may be a startup now, but your business willachieve success over time. Other businessesmight desire to collaborate with you. Registeringyour trademark will mean that you can licenceyour logo for use on products, packaging or on amultitude of other items by franchisees.
How to register your trademark
A great tip (which I use) to ensure that nobodyelse has a similar logo design to you, is a reverseimage search in Google Images. While it feelsrudimentary and has no guarantee of catchingevery occurrence this is a very powerful tool foravoiding embarrassment.
TRADEMARKING A LOGODESIGN
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G R A C E A B E L L , A B E L L D E S I G N
After a branding project iscomplete, you should be rightfullyproud of your new logo. It’s aunique emblem of your business,and any graphic designer worththeir salt will create somethingoriginal for you.
If nobody else is using your brand, youcan breathe a sigh of relief and thankyour graphic designer.
Now, check that nobody else hastrademarked your name or logo.Youcan do this in the UK via the gov.ukwebsite.
There should be no matches withinyour industry. If there are some closematches, there may be troubleattaining a successful trademarkregistration. So, at this stage, workwith your designer to ensure that yourlogo design is truly distinctive.
The most convenient way to registeryour trademark is online via thegov.uk website.
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How long does registering a trademark take?
If there are no queries or concerns to slow the process, registration takes aboutfour months.
Your trademark registration is yours for a decade. After ten years this, you willhave to apply for renewal. This is a perfect time to assess your brand design andconsider what you’d like to remain trademarked and what items needrefreshing. Get in touch with me if you’d like to do that.
The cost of trademark registration in the UK.
The fee for registering a trade mark is made up of different parts, depending onyour needs. Expect to spend in the region of £200 in total. While this is certainlynot inexpensive for a startup business, £20 a year to protect your brand isworthwhile compared to the losses you could make to a competitor trading offyour hard work.
Finally, it’s good to bear in mind that there are a finite number of shapes,images and words which comprise a brand design, don’t sweat if anotherbusiness is looking similar to yours, but is outside your industry. If you’re notcompeting for business, a co-incidence isn’t ideal, but is unlikely to concern thePatent Office.