how much does it cost to copyright and trademark a logo [Explained]

Last updated : Sept 3, 2022

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How much do it cost to copyright a logo?

What Does it Cost to Trademark a Logo? The cost to trademark a logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is $275â€“$660 as of June 2020, plus legal fees. You can register a trademark with your state for $50-$150, but federal registration offers a great deal more legal protection.

Should I trademark or copyright my logo?

A trademark can protect your name and logo in case someone else wants to use them for their own purposes. Also, you cannot really copyright a name, since copyright protects artistic works. This is exactly why you need to have a trademark that protects your company's intellectual property, such as your logo.

Is it worth trademarking a logo?

Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds and colors and distinguish one company's goods and products from another. Trademarking a logo not only protects it from being used by other similar companies, it also protects a company from unknowingly infringing upon an existing logo.

Can I trademark a logo I bought?

How to Trademark a Logo. A unique logo can be trademarked by registering it with the USPTO. Anyone can apply online on the USPTO website if the business for which they're authorized to file is principally located inside the U.S. If based outside the U.S., a patent attorney will be required to make the filing.

Is my logo automatically copyrighted?

The simple answer: Logos are not copyrighted, they are actually trademarked. Whether or not legal action is taken for replicating a trademarked logo is fully up to the company or entity that owns the trademark. A company still has legal rights to their logo even if it's not trademarked.

How do I copyright a logo for free?

Can you trademark your logo for free? You can not register a trademark for free. However, what you can do is establish something known as a "common law trademark" for free. You can do this by simply opening for business.

Can someone steal my logo?

Logo theft is a violation that occurs when one party steals or uses another party's trademarked logo without their permission. This is a more specific term for trademark infringement, and can take many forms. It typically involves the theft of a trademark or a service mark.

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.

How long does it take to trademark a logo?

Ans: Trademark Registration is a lengthy process and it takes around 18-24 months to obtain registration in a straight-forward case, without any objections or oppositions. However, the trademark application number is usually issued within one or 2 days after filing.

What happens if I don't trademark my logo?

If you do not register your trademark, you will have legal rights only within the geographic areas where you operate. This means you may be able to stop a subsequent user of the mark, even if it is a bigger company, from using the mark in your geographic area only.

Do I need a logo for my LLC?

In short, the answer is no. In fact, none of your branding/marketing needs to include â€œLLC,â€ â€œInc.â€ or â€œLtd.â€ If it is included, this may look amateur. Think of national brands such as Target, Starbucks, and Honda.

How do I protect my company logo?

Do a trademark search in USPTO or EUIPO for similar trademarks to make sure yours doesn't conflict with another registered mark.
Complete a trademark application.
Wait and monitor for progress.

How do I trademark a logo design?

Complete a trademark search.
Secure your rights.
Submit an initial application at uspto.gov on the Trademark Electronic Application System or TEAS.
Fill out the TEAS form for an initial application. Be sure to upload the file of your logo.
Submit an "intent-to-use" form.
Pay the fees.

How do I patent my logo?

Search for similar logos. Only original logos receive trademarks.
Get a professional search. While a personal search is a good start, many novices miss relevant trademarks.
Access and complete the registered trademark application form.
Submit your application and filing fees.

How do I copyright my company logo and name?

Registering a trademark for a company name is pretty straightforward. Many businesses can file an application online in less than 90 minutes, without a lawyer's help. The simplest way to register is on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site, www.uspto.gov.

Can you copyright for free?

Determine when your original work is officially copyrighted. No copyright registration is needed to protect your writing, and no fee is required. Although registering your copyright is voluntary, there are reasons you might want to take that step.

Who owns the copyright of a logo?

Copyright law provides that the designer of the logo is the first owner, unless it's made by an employee in the course of their employment, in which case the copyright will be owned by the employer. If you employ a designer who creates your new logo, you will own the copyright in it.

How do I know if my logo is taken?

To search the USPTO's trademark database, go to TESS and choose a search option. If you are searching for a name, you can use the trademark name search. If you are searching a design mark, such as a logo, you will first need to look up your design code using the USPTO's Design Search Code Manual.

What is the difference between copyright and trademark?

Copyrights primarily protect the rights of people who create literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works (like history tests, and software code). Trademarks protect the use of a company's name and its product names, brand identity (like logos) and slogans.

Do logo designers get royalties?

Many designers have royalty in mind when refusing to part with logo ownership. They want to earn money as royalty every time a logo is used in varied marketing platforms. For example, if a logo is used on a brochure design, the designer would like to get a royalty. This provides them a regular source of income.

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Comment by Deb Rihner

hi i'm tamie shionbotti houston-based attorney and host of ask tammy live where we discuss the best ways to establish a business protect your name and keep your profits today's question of the day is how much does it cost to get a trademark now that's a great question and i'm going to give you a lawyerly answer but i'll explain it is it depends right and so what does it depend on though i've broken it down into four factors the first factor that it depends on is when you decide to file the application the second one is the process that is taken the third one is the categories that you are filing your trademark in and the fourth one is who will be responsible for doing the work so let's take each of those factors one by one the first factor something to keep in mind first thing to keep in mind when we're talking about when is that the prices the filing fees for your trademark applications are going up in 2021. i know say it isn't so but unfortunately it is so for the standard application currently it's 275 um but the price the filing fee for that is going up to 350 there is a more streamlined process that's 225 currently that will also be increasing to 250 but most practitioners tend to lean towards using the standard one because it provides some things that make it that help in terms of submitting your application i'm not going to go into the nuance details right now but the standard one can be better for a lot of the applications that are being submitted if you are doing it in 2021 you get to be under the new filing fee regime you are looking at 350 dollars per trademark per class and we'll talk about class um in a few so the next thing to keep in mind when we're talking about when is when you are or how far you are in your process if you are filing your or trying to register your trademark submitting your application before you started using the trademark in the business world in commerce it's probably going to be more expensive slightly more expensive i wouldn't say that this is a bad thing though because what ends up happening is when you submit this application it's called an intent to use your filing fee date goes back to when you originally submitted the application so you have this protection from before you've even started using your mark whereas if you wait for when you're actually using the trademark in commerce it is a little cheaper you don't have to spend the money for that second step but you don't have that protection that goes as far back so in terms of timing you don't have as much protection but it is a little cheaper another thing you should keep in mind regarding timing and your fees is that if you have something like an office action come up and you need an extension extension can't talk today an extension when you are trying to submit some of the materials that are requested if you have to get an additional extension right that's going to be more money so keep all of those things in mind your timing is really important and can really impact how much money you'll spend during this process good all right let's move on to the next one the next factor that we want to consider right is your process now your process is basically when are you putting in the work i advise people to go and do a comprehensive search it's something i provide for my clients before they submit their application because what i've learned is that a lot of times people invest a lot of money time and energy into developing a brand into developing a mark and then when they try to file and register the trademark they run into issues that they could have kind of you know cured or paid attention to had they done the search upfront but the search upfront costs more money now if you don't do the search upfront and you register your trademark or you submit the application you could run into a host of issues which would and then um cause more cause you to spend more money right because now you have an office action that you need to respond to and you need to call an attorney to fix your issue rather than to be preemptive um and they're gonna charge you know the appropriate amount depending on how complicated your situation is but if you did the search upfront in your process you would know that okay these are some of the things and the roadblocks that i might anticipate and perhaps save money so your process is another important factor when you're trying to figure out how much you will spend to register a trademark the third third factor for you is the categories that you hope to cover in terms of your trademark protection the way that trademark works is that when you submit an application you submit an application for a mark and for a category each category is its own separate filing fee and there are categories for everything there's categories for if you're doing educational content there's categories if you have apparel they're categories if it's woodwork they're different categories and that analysis is kind of what attorneys help you figure out in terms of strategically positioning yourself okay maybe you should do this category there's great you know greater likelihood for coverage here and this is the area that you're operating in let's take this strategic step but you should again understand that each category that you submit an application in is an additional filing fee so when we were talking about that 350 filing fee let's say you have something that is in clothing but it's also an educational resource and you want to own the trademarks in both of those things that's 350 for the educational one and 350 for the apparel the other thing you should keep in mind is that the united states patent and trademark office does not recognize your your name has the same as a design mark so if you have a logo and you have a name the two of them are not the same application they're each separate applications so you can see how this can kind of stack up and become you know kind of pricey depending on where you are in your business if you have a logo that you want to to register a trademark in in two categories that's you know 350 350 each but then you also might have one in um i don't remember if i just said logo or name but you might have one in one of those so keep those things in mind when you are determining how much you'll have to pay for your trademark sounds good so the final factor is who's doing the work right and so one of the things that you want to consider when you're trying to decide um how much or trying to evaluate how much this is going to cost is are you going to hire an attorney to do the work or are you going to do it yourself now if you take the diy route i want you to just keep in mind that there are some landmines that you might not be aware of um you heard all the different things that i talked about today but there are other things and then what if you get an office action how are you going to respond to that how are you going to make sure that you're searching the right avenues and that you have all those things in place those are all things that you'll have to navigate so not only will you you might be saving money but you'll be

Thanks for your comment Deb Rihner, have a nice day.
- Goldie Germani, Staff Member

Comment by Hank

hi everyone i'm attorney aidan durham with 180 law co in colorado and you're watching i'll open your business on this episode of all opinion business we're going to talk about how much it costs to register a trademark with the united states patent and trademark office or uspto but first don't forget to like subscribe and share and check the description for links to additional information and resources all right so it's no secret that probably the best way to protect your business's brand like its name or logo is with a registered trademark registering a trademark with the uspto is really the best way to secure whatever brand element you have your business name logo and other trademarks so if you've decided to go that route how much should you expect to pay for it now if you're not new to my channel if you've seen some of my videos before you can probably guess the short answer to this question come on everybody i know you know what i'm about to say let's say it together it depends it always depends everything always depends so the cost to file a trademark application and get your trademark registered is going to depend on a few different factors and of course it also depends on if you're doing it yourself versus working with an attorney or having somebody help you i'm going to start off by just talking about fees involved the uspto's fees so if you're filing the application on your own what are the actual costs and fees associated with the application i'll touch on lawyer fees and how much those might cost towards the end of the video so the first thing it's going to depend on is which application you use if you file the teas plus application versus the teas standard application the fees are going to be different now you can check back to one of my older videos where i talk about the differences between t-e-a-s plus and t-e-a-s standard i'll link to that in the description i go into a lot more detail about what the differences are but the initial difference is the filing fee so for the teas plus application it's going to be 250 bucks per class of goods and services for the teas standard application it's going to be 350 per class of goods and services so what do i mean when i say per class on the application we have to identify the goods and or services with which we are using the trademark what is it that we're selling with this trademark we have to let the uspto know there are different classes different categories to an extent of goods and services i think maybe 45 something in the 40s around 45 different classes and sometimes we need to file in multiple classes if we're selling multiple types of goods and services and so that filing fee whether it's 250 or 350 is going to be per class so let's assume we're just filing in one class of goods and services and we're using that teas plus application it's going to be a one-time fee of 250 bucks to file the application now this tes plus application there are some requirements that go along with it certain requirements that we have to meet in order to benefit from that reduced fee with the teas plus application again check back to that other video where i go into more detail about what those requirements are but if we fail to meet all those requirements if we submit the application and it turns out we didn't meet all the requirements they're going to want their money they're going to want that extra 100 bucks so if we file the tas plus application but we're missing one of those requirements there's going to be an additional 100 per class fee that will be due to the uspto so that's the first difference are we using a teis plus or the teas standard application the second difference has to do with the filing basis so again when we submit the application we have to let the uspto know if we are filing on a 1a current use basis or a 1b intent to use basis current use is kind of what it sounds like it means we are currently using the trademark in commerce in connection with our goods and services our goods and services are available for people to purchase and we are using our trademark in connection with those goods and services currently as of the date that we file the application or we can file on a 1b intent to use which again is what it sounds like we're not currently using the trademark but we intend to use it so with that 1b intent to use filing basis at some point later on after we file the application after an examining attorney has been assigned after the examining attorney has looked over the application after they've done their search to make sure there are no confusingly similar trademarks already the examining attorney is going to issue a notice of allowance and once we get this notice of allowance we have six months to file a statement of use showing that we are now using the trademark in commerce or we can request a six-month extension and we can continue requesting extensions for up to about three years so with that one b intent to use application we have to file a statement of use and or request extensions at some point in the process and there are going to be filing fees associated with that so with the statement of use it's a hundred dollar per class filing fee to file the statement of use if we are not ready to file a statement of use and we need to request an extension it's 125 per class for that extension request those fees don't apply if we are filing on a current use 1a basis because we're basically already giving them the statement of use when we submit the application so we don't have that additional filing later on therefore we don't have that additional filing fee so looking at all that if we're trying to keep our fees as low as possible we want to use the teas plus application and we want to file on a 1a current use basis otherwise with the 1b intent to use basis we're going to have those filing fees 100 or 125 per class for the statement of use or the extension requests for most people most applicants that's going to be it of course there are situations where additional fees might come up sometimes we need to divide an application kind of split into two sometimes we'll have to deal with an opposition proceeding which means we're dealing with the ttab or trademark trial and appeal board and there are going to be fees associated with that kind of an issue so you know it's not always the case that these are the only fees there are certainly instances where other filing fees can come up but you know the majority of instances for most people it's just going to be that initial filing fee and then potentially those filing fees for the statement of use or extension requests if we filed on a one b basis so great the application is has gone through and our trademark is registered are there gonna be other fees yes of course there are what are they going to be of course it depends but so after the trademark is registered a few years after it's registered i think five years maybe it's four years now we'll just say four to five years after the trademark's registered we have to renew it basically a trademark can stay registered forever potentially as long as we are continuing to

Thanks Hank your participation is very much appreciated
- Goldie Germani

About the author

Goldie Germani

I've studied mining engineering at Rhodes College in Memphis and I am an expert in digital humanities (humanities computing). I usually feel envious. My previous job was exhibit artist I held this position for 17 years, I love talking about railway studies and sketching. Huge fan of Jennifer Lopez I practice equestrian: dressage and collect coca-cola.

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