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The Zest

How to Trademark a Logo: The Drawing, the Color Choice and the Description

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Yes, you can trademark a logo. You register it by filing an application with the USPTO that shows the logo in what's called a special form drawing, describes it in words, and lists the goods or services you use it for. The registration then covers that particular depiction.

Most of the application is the same as one for a name. The logo-specific parts are the image file, the choice between color and black and white, the written description, and making sure the artwork is yours to register. Those are what this article covers. Whether to file the logo or the name first is a separate question, answered in the article on word marks versus logos.

Start with who owns the artwork

Before the filing details, check the ownership. A trademark application is filed by the owner of the mark, and with a logo there's a second layer: the copyright in the artwork. Under the Copyright Act, copyright starts with the person who created the work, unless it's a work made for hire, and it can be transferred. Paying a designer's invoice doesn't by itself tell you which of those happened.

If a freelancer or agency made your logo, look for the written agreement that moves the rights to you. That's the subject of the article on designers and logo ownership. If the logo came out of a template tool, the platform's license terms matter, which I cover in the article on Canva logos.

The drawing: one clean image of the mark

The USPTO's rules recognize two kinds of drawing. A standard character drawing is plain text with no claim to any font, size or color. A special form drawing is required whenever the mark includes a design, color, or words in a particular style. Under 37 C.F.R. § 2.52, a logo falls in the second group.

The drawing is the official picture of your mark. It's what the USPTO publishes and what appears on the registration certificate. An application covers one mark, so it gets one drawing. If you have a horizontal version and a stacked version, or an icon with and without the name, those are different drawings, and you choose which one to file.

The USPTO's current requirements for the image are specific:

  • JPG format only
  • 5 megabytes or smaller, and not zipped or compressed
  • as little white space around the design as possible
  • RGB color mode for color marks, not CMYK, which design programs often produce
  • clean, sharp, solid lines, not fine or crowded

The rule on electronic drawings, 37 C.F.R. § 2.53, also calls for an image between 250 and 944 pixels in each direction. The USPTO's examining manual says the agency has waived that as a strict requirement but still recommends staying in the range.

The image should contain the mark and nothing else. The USPTO's manual says a drawing may not include the TM, SM or ® symbols. Net weight statements, ingredient lists and addresses don't belong in it either. And it has to be the logo you really use: under 37 C.F.R. § 2.51, the drawing must be a substantially exact representation of the mark as it's used, or as you intend to use it, with your goods or services. That gets tested when you submit proof of use, which I explain in the article on specimens.

Color or black and white

This is the choice with the most lasting effect.

If you file the drawing in color, color becomes a feature of the mark. The rule requires three things together: a color drawing, a color claim naming every color in the mark, and a description saying where each color appears. The USPTO asks for ordinary color names, and it counts black, white and gray as colors when they're part of the mark. If black, white or gray is only background, outlining or shading, the description should say that.

If you file in black and white, you make no color claim. The USPTO's manual says that when color isn't claimed as a feature of the mark, the image must be depicted only in black and white, generally black on a white background.

Which to choose depends on the logo. If the colors are what people recognize, claiming them puts that in the registration. If the logo appears in different colors across packaging, seasons or product lines, a color drawing ties the registration to one of those versions, and that's a reason some owners file in black and white.

The description and the design search codes

Every special form drawing needs a written description of the mark. The USPTO wants it accurate and concise, covering every word and design element that appears, and the location of the colors if color is claimed. Something like "the mark consists of the word SUNNY in stylized lettering below a half circle with seven rays" is the idea. Don't describe anything that isn't in the image.

The description does more than label the picture. The USPTO uses it, along with the drawing, to assign design search codes. Words can be searched as text, but designs can't, so the USPTO files design elements under six-digit codes. The first two digits are the broad category, the next two are a narrower division, and the last two are the specific section. Those codes are how examining attorneys, and anyone else searching the register, find logos with similar elements.

You don't pick the codes. The USPTO assigns them when the application comes in, and examining attorneys can revise them. They're administrative entries. They don't appear on the registration certificate and they don't change what the registration covers. If the codes assigned to your logo miss an element, the USPTO accepts requests to correct or add to them.

What a logo registration covers

The USPTO says it directly: with a special form drawing, the mark is protected for the particular depiction you provided. That has a few consequences.

A logo registration isn't the same as a registration for the words in it. A standard character registration covers the wording in any font, size or color. A logo registration covers the design as shown. The words inside a logo still count when marks are compared for confusion, but if the name is what matters most, the logo filing isn't a substitute for a filing on the name.

Redesigns matter. After filing, you can amend the drawing only if the change doesn't materially alter the mark, measured against the drawing you originally filed. A light refresh may stay inside that line. A real redesign generally means a new application, so it's worth filing the version you expect to keep.

A logo also doesn't skip the usual examination. The examining attorney still checks for confusingly similar marks, including marks that share the same wording or a similar dominant design. And the fees are the same as for any other application: the base USPTO fee is $350 per class of goods or services.

If you're weighing which version of your logo to file, you can see how the search and filing packages work on the services page, and the FAQs page answers most of what comes up before a first call.

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(No legal advice is given on the discovery call. It's a chance to tell me what you're building and hear how the process works.)

Sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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