Have your logo protected: 5 important questions and answers

There are two main options if you want to have your logo protected: protection under copyright law and protection under trade mark law. Your logo represents the identity, character and values of your company.

It is therefore important that it is protected against unwanted imitation. How well a logo is protected depends above all on the type of protection you choose.

A logo is more than just a graphic representation - it is the key to recognition and trust. Logos in particular have a huge impact in business dealings.

Your logo stands for your company and your brand. As a logo is also crucial to the commercial success of your company, it is worth thinking about how you can protect your intellectual property at an early stage.

In this article, we will show you how you can protect your logo, what you need to bear in mind when registering a trade mark and why you should instruct a specialist lawyer for industrial property protection when registering a trade mark.

Contents of this Page

1. Why should I protect a logo?
2. Can I have my logo protected?
3. What do I need to bear in mind when registering a trade mark?
4. What does it cost to have a logo protected?
5. What can specialist lawyer Marco Bennek do for companies with regard to logo protection?
6. Conclusion
7. FAQ

1. Why should I protect a logo?

Customers and business partners associate a brand or company logo with certain characteristics of the company. A company logo also often conveys a positive first impression to new customers and business partners and arouses the interest and curiosity of potential customers.

In particular, if a well-designed and memorable logo is associated with a company and its products or services, the logo acts as a figurehead for the company and its values. A logo also symbolises the identity and goals of your company.

Since a logo is part of the recognition value of a brand, it is advisable to protect a logo that distinguishes your company and your brand from the competition.

This prevents the logo from being used and utilised by a competitor. This is particularly useful if you already use your logo on all channels, for example.

2. Can I have my logo protected?

A logo is a graphic representation of a company, brand or organisation, for example. As a graphic representation, a logo can contain elements of graphic symbols as well as graphically designed letters or words such as the company name or brand name. As part of a corporate design, a logo is part of the visual appearance and carrier of the corporate identity, especially in larger companies.

There are two main options for protecting a logo:

1. copyright protection and
2. protection under trade mark law.

If you want to register your logo as a trade mark, the protection of the logo is governed by trade mark law. Copyright law, on the other hand, does not provide for the registration of a logo in an official register.

Protection of a logo by copyright

However, copyright protection is only possible in exceptional cases. For this, the logo must reach a certain level of creativity, e.g. be particularly creatively designed or have features that make the logo recognisable as particularly individual or as a work of art.

If this is the case with a logo, nothing further needs to be done for the logo to be protected by copyright. Copyright protection begins with the completion of the logo as a work of art.

If another company now uses this logo, legal action can be taken against this use. Firstly, the court examines whether or not the logo was eligible for copyright protection as a creative work. On the other hand, the court examines whether there is a copyright infringement, e.g. through the use of the logo by another company.

Copyright protection is therefore a bit of a grey area until it is reviewed by a court, as it is never possible to say exactly whether copyright protection applies at all and a court will determine this.

Protection of a logo under trade mark law

In order to obtain trade mark protection for a logo, the logo can be entered in the national trade mark register at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office - DPMA for short - in Munich. Trademark protection gives the owner the exclusive right to use the logo as a trade mark. If you have registered your logo with the DPMA, you may sell all products or services of the company under this logo or offer them under this logo.

Trade mark protection distinguishes between figurative marks, word marks and combined word/figurative marks. If the company logo is a purely graphic representation, i.e. without words or text, it is a pure figurative trade mark. Only the graphic elements of a logo are protected in the case of a figurative trade mark. If such a graphic element also contains text, words, letters, numbers or special characters, it is a word/figurative mark. The trade mark protection extends to the graphic representation as well as to the arrangement and spelling and the texts, words, letters, numbers or special characters used.

For example, if you want to protect a specific advertising slogan under trade mark law, you can register and protect this slogan as a word mark. Only the content, i.e. the spelling, arrangement and text, is protected, but not the graphic design of the text or the words, letters, numbers or special characters. If you want to protect a specific graphic design of an advertising slogan, it is a word/figurative mark.

3. What do I need to bear in mind when registering a trade mark?

Before registering and protecting your logo under trade mark law, you should always check whether the logo infringes any existing property rights. You should therefore check whether your logo is similar to an already protected logo. You can do this by searching the DPMA database, for example.

Check for similar logos protected under trade mark law

Naturally, this is often difficult for laypersons in the field of trade mark law. We recommend commissioning a specialist lawyer for industrial property rights to carry out the trade mark search and application. They can use their experience to check whether the designed logo does not infringe existing trade mark rights, whether the logo is already being used in any form and what the chances are of trade mark protection.

Note: Incidentally, you should not rely on the DPMA's examination. The DPMA does not check whether there are already similar logos that are protected under trade mark law. However, the owners of existing IP rights to a similar logo can file an opposition in the course of registering their own logo.

Application to the DPMA

If you are sure that the logo does not infringe any existing property rights because there are no similar logos, you must apply to the DPMA to register a trade mark. A lawyer is not required for this application. However, certain information must be provided in the application, which can be provided by specialised lawyers in particular, so that the trade mark application does not fail.

For example, the so-called Nice classes for which the trade mark is to be protected must be specified. Nice classes are different classes of goods or services in which a trade mark can be protected. Trade mark protection should be tailored to the classes of goods or services in which your company operates or offers goods or services.

There are a total of 45 so-called Nice classes, of which 34 are classes of goods and 11 are classes of services. The classes of goods are, for example, classes for various goods such as vehicles (class 12), household appliances (class 21) or clothing and footwear (class 25). You should check very carefully in which classes of goods or services you operate with your offer, your company and your logo and select these specifically when applying for trade mark protection.

As simply specifying the Nice classes is not sufficient for the trade mark application of a logo, a separate list must be drawn up for this purpose. For the correct selection of the Nice Classes and the creation of such a list, it is advisable to seek the assistance of a specialist lawyer for industrial property protection when filing a trade mark application.

European and international protection

When you apply for a figurative or word/figurative mark at the DPMA, protection is only granted for the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. The DPMA is not responsible if you also want to protect your word mark throughout Europe or internationally.

The European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante is responsible for Europe-wide protection. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva is responsible for registering an international trade mark.

4. What does it cost to have a logo protected?

A fee is charged for applying for a trade mark. There is a normal and an accelerated procedure. The fee in the normal procedure is EUR 290 if the trade mark is applied for electronically (online). If the documents are submitted by post, the fee is EUR 300.

This fee covers up to three Nice classes. An additional fee of EUR 100 is charged for each additional class of goods/services. An additional fee of EUR 200 is charged for using the accelerated procedure, which leads to a faster trade mark application.

Term of protection and fees for renewal

The term of protection of a trade mark at the DPMA is 10 years. Before the term of protection expires, the trade mark proprietor can file an application for renewal of trade mark protection in good time. The fee for up to three classes is EUR 750. If more than three Nice classes are protected, a fee of 260 euros is charged for each additional class.

5. What can specialist lawyer Marco Bennek do for companies with regard to logo protection?

We check the general protectability of your logo

In order for the registration and trademark protection of a logo to be successful, a logo must fulfil certain legal requirements for registration with the German Trademark and Patent Office. The same applies to Europe-wide protection by the EUIPO. We check the general protectability of your logo and determine the appropriate scope of protection for your business model.

We conduct a thorough and legally compliant logo search

The DPMA does not check in advance whether another company has already registered and protected an identical or similar logo. If this is the case, the use of your own logo may infringe the rights of existing and registered logo trade marks.

In order to avoid unavoidable legal disputes, we carry out a careful and legally secure logo search for you in advance. This ensures legal certainty for you and your company.

We register your logo

After a general examination and careful research, we determine the optimum scope of protection for your logo. We arrange for your logo to be registered as a trade mark with the relevant trade mark office - throughout Germany, Europe or internationally.

Should any disputes arise during the registration process, we will assert your interests and rights in a targeted manner.

We protect your logo

If you want to protect your logo with legal certainty, you should not make any compromises. We offer you legal support from experienced and qualified specialist lawyers. Our offer means legal certainty for you and logo protection that fulfils all requirements.

6. Conclusion

• Options for protecting logos: There are two main ways to protect a logo: copyright and trade mark law. The choice depends on how creative the logo is. Particularly creative logos or logos that can be identified as works of art can be protected by copyright.
• Significance of the logo: A logo represents the identity and values of a company. It is the key to recognition and creates trust in the business environment. As a logo also contributes to commercial success, it should be protected from imitators.
• Why protect a logo: Customers associate positive characteristics of a company with a logo. It is therefore important to protect the logo from unwanted imitation in order to preserve its uniqueness.
• Copyright protection: A logo can be protected by copyright if it reaches a certain level of creativity. This protection begins with the completion of the logo as a work of art. An entry in a register or an application to an authority is not required.
• Trade mark protection: Registration of a trade mark with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office enables protection under trade mark law. Depending on the specific design of your logo, this may be a figurative mark or a word/figurative mark, for example. Europe-wide (responsible EUIPO) or international protection (responsible WIPO) is also possible.
• Trade mark application: In trade mark law, an application to the DPMA is required for protection. Before filing an application, it should be checked whether the logo infringes existing property rights and whether it is similar to an existing logo. Careful research and, if necessary, the support of a specialised lawyer are recommended.
• Costs and duration: There are fees for registering a trade mark, which vary depending on the procedure (normal or accelerated) and the number of classes of goods and services. The term of protection is 10 years and can be extended. International protection is possible via the EUIPO or WIPO.

7. FAQ

Image credits: Image 1: © Randolf Berold / PantherMedia / Image 2: © Arcady / PantherMedia