Can i change my trademark logo [Fact Checked]

Last updated : Aug 25, 2022

Can I change a logo and use it?

If you find yourself wanting to use some or all of a company or organization's logo and you don't own the company or organization, you will need to get a letter with written consent from the registered owner saying that you have their permission to use the logo in question in your design.

Can you change colors in trademarked logo?

If your mark is registered in color, you will not be able to change colors when using the mark to sell your goods or services. In other words, a registered trademark in color requires that you use the exact same design mark with the same colors to maintain your registration.

Can I trademark a logo that already exists?

If you're wondering, "can you trademark something that already exists," the simple answer is "no." Generally speaking, if somebody has used a trademark before you, you can't register the trademark for yourself.

How do you change a trademark?

Simply put, it means changing or altering the application in some manner after it's filed. The way to amend a trademark application is by filing an amendment with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

How much does a logo need to be changed to avoid copyright?

How Much Do You Have To Change a Logo To Avoid Copyright? Essentially, you just need to make a logo that is different enough that people don't see it and instantly think it's stolen from the existing logo. It's said that it can't have a "substantial similarity" to the existing logo.

How much must you change an image to avoid copyright?

Accordingly, you cannot claim copyright to another's work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner's consent. See Circular 14, Copyright Registration for Derivative Works and Compilations.

Can you recolor a logo?

Logos are often trademarked, and therefore you are not free to recolor them according to whatever color scheme your template happens to use.

Is Tiffany Blue trademarked?

Since 1998, Tiffany Blue® has been registered as a color trademark by Tiffany and, in 2001, was standardized as a custom color created by Pantone® exclusively for Tiffany and not publicly available.

Can two companies have the same trademark?

The short answer is, “it depends.” It depends on (1) Whether the other business is in the same industry; (2) Whether the other business is in the same geographical market; (3) Who was using the mark first; and (4) Who registered the trademark first.

How long does a trademark last?

A federal trademark lasts 10 years from the date of registration, with 10-year renewal terms. Between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date, the registrant must file an affidavit to state that the mark is still in use.

Does your logo have to match your business name?

No, your logo (or brand) does not have to match your LLC name. Your logo (or business name) is the brand you use to market to your clients, whereas your LLC name is the legal entity name of your firm. They can match, but they do not need to match.

Can a trademark be amended?

Before the registration of a trademark, an applicant who has filed a trademark registration application can request for correction or amendment of a trademark application by filing trademark Form- 16 along with the prescribed fee and supporting documents.

How much does it cost to transfer a trademark?

Once the nature of the transfer has been properly memorialized between the parties, the trademark transfer must be documented and recorded with the USPTO. The government filing fee is associated with the transfer is presently $40.

Can you add to a trademark?

Answer: No. Once a trademark application is filed, you may no longer add additional classes to it. If you need to protect your trademarks for new product or service offerings, you must file a another, separate application.

Can I be sued for using a similar logo?

Trademark lawsuits are often active in court as a result of similar logo designs. The standard for trademark infringement is based on the likelihood that consumers would confuse the logos and brands because there is not enough to sufficiently differentiate the two.

Can you get sued for similar logo?

However, in the same vein, logo copyright guidelines also mean that you can get into trouble if your designs are too similar in style to something else that exists in the marketplace. Anything original created by an artist or company can become something called “intellectual property”.

What happens if my logo is similar to another?

If another business in the same or related category is using a logo similar to yours, they are infringing on your trade mark rights. The legal options available include: sending a letter of demand; and. taking court action.

Can you change a copyrighted image and sell it?

The first question you need to answer is whether the image or photo that you intend to "edit" is protected by copyright. If it is in the "public domain," then yes you can change it and post or distribute the resulting image.

Can I paint a copyrighted image?

Who Holds the Copyright? The creator of the photograph, i.e. the photographer, usually holds the copyright to the photo and unless they've expressly given permission for its use, making a painting based on a photo would infringe the photographer's copyright.

How do artists avoid copyright infringement?

Reproduce the copyrighted work in copies. Prepare derivative works. Distribute copies of the work by public sale, transfer of ownership or lending, lease or renting.

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hey what's up this is attorney Dan xmin coming at you with a little bit more on trademark so someone asked me this the other day is hey I have a registration but can I change the logo that I use with my trademark and so like any other lawyer answer it depends right in my past videos you've probably seen that if the priority here is actually to protect the words only right so I will say that if if you have a trademark registration for the words only for the standard character mark I would say yeah you can change you can change the logo because what's protected is actually the words so so typically you can change the logo change the design change this font styling of how you present your registered word mark and I like that's why I prefer and advise clients if they're gonna do one trademark do the EULA word mark only because that gives them the broadest protection the most flexibility now it's a little bit different if you have registered your quote uncle logo or stylized mark as we like to call it because you are kind of set in stone as to that particular styling typically you not gonna be able to change your logo or the picture or anything like that so unfortunately it's unlikely that you'd be able to change it so so remember if you're looking to do a good brand protection do the words only if you have I will save ya the budget do it as many iterations as you can as your budget allows for it but but the word mark only gives you the most flexibility into changing the styling of the particular name if you do a registration for a logo you will probably be locked into that particular picture even if it's slight changes you might not be able to renew it when the time comes in the fifth year or in the tenth year to renew your trademark registration because the the logo does not what you're using now does not exactly match the ones that you are using or does not match the one that you registered for so you got to be really careful if you're gonna do logo make sure you kind of do that one you're kind of set on that one but if you want some flexibility do the word mark only and it gives it a little bit more of a freedom in how you use it okay so this is a Tony dnx with coming at you you want some more information pick up my book making your mark on amazon.com and I'll talk to you later

Thanks for your comment Kymberly Spigelmyer, have a nice day.
- Wilbur Gaccione, Staff Member

let's talk about whether or not a brand owner can change a trademark and shout out this question uh comes from tim carr on twitter and if you have topics you'd like to see covered in future videos or podcasts please tweet at me at tm for small biz and i'll try to get to as many of them as i can so brands often evolve over time and sometimes brand names or logos do change or evolve sometimes the changes are subtle like coke at one point was evolving into new coke um sometimes they're more dramatic when a brand shifts uh its name entirely or when two companies merge and uh exxon becomes exxon mobil for example so brand names do evolve over time but what i want to talk about now is trademark filings and whether or not the marks in those filings can change and the answer is generally no so when a trademark application has been filed at the uspto or registered at the uspto generally only very very small changes will be allowed if the change amounts to what's called a material alteration which means that in essence an examiner would have to do a new search to redetermine whether or not there's any conflicts if that change does amount to a material alteration a proposed change then it will not be allowed so the type of change that might be permitted would be to drop the word the or to change a space between two words to a hyphen something very small rather insignificant but generally adding or deleting a word or making any kind of other change to the mark is going to jeopardize the filing and require a new filing so when brands do undergo those more significant changes they will generally have to file a new trademark application to cover and make sure it's protected going forward with the proper new uh iteration of the brand there is one type of change that's very interesting that sometimes can be allowed and that is a change to the description of goods and services in a registration and that change is allowed if technology has brought about a change to make it so that the way a mark was used years ago is no longer the way it's used a great example of this is um records or phonographs which although now are trendy and back in style you know many music publishers no longer make records if they have a registration that covers records they may be allowed to update that registration to cover digital sound recordings or other forms of musical recordings that's also a good reminder just to think about how your goods and services are described to try to describe them in a way that hopefully won't go out of date and then uh the registrant won't have to worry about that issue so those are some of the ways that a trademark and a trademark registration can be changed and generally cannot be changed and again i want to thank tim uh for raising a very interesting question on twitter

Thanks Korey your participation is very much appreciated
- Wilbur Gaccione

About the author

Wilbur Gaccione

I've studied mineral physics at Carroll College in Helena and I am an expert in modern philosophy. I usually feel ecstatic. My previous job was safety inspector I held this position for 31 years, I love talking about taekwondo and tennis. Huge fan of Alfred Molina I practice lawn bowling and collect collectible card games.