Logo registration
Logo registration is a trademark application for a device mark. There is no separate logo register. Company Suggestion files the logo in Form TM-A under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, in the class of the goods or services it is used on.
How is a logo registered?
The Trade Marks Act treats a device, a label, and a brand as marks. The logo is one of those marks. The application is the same Form TM-A used for a word. Examination, advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal, and the four-month opposition window apply in the same way.
Drawing the logo does not put it on the register. Copyright may subsist in the artwork as an artistic work. That is a different right, and it does not of itself reserve the logo for one trade.
What should the logo file show?
The office registers the image that is uploaded. A blurry file becomes the registered mark.
- A clear image of the logo, in the form that will actually be used
- The word, if the mark is a word and a symbol together
- Colour, if colour is claimed as a feature. A logo filed without a colour claim is not limited to one colour
- The applicant’s name and address
Which class does the logo go in?
The class follows the goods or services, not the artistic style. A clothing brand and a software business are not the same class. Classes 1 to 34 cover goods. Classes 35 to 45 cover services. The registration protects the logo for the goods named in the application.
A search comes first. If an earlier device in the same class is too close, the application is a poor one. The logo should also not contain a word the business has no right to use.
What are the filing steps?
Company Suggestion files the logo in four steps.
- The image is searched as a device mark in the class of the business.
- Form TM-A is filed with that image, the class, and the user claim or “proposed to be used.”
- The examination report is answered, and any opposition is answered within two months of the notice.
- After registration the logo may use ®. Renewal is due 10 years from the filing date.
Frequently asked questions
4 questions cover the rules that decide this registration.
Is there a separate register for logos?
No. A logo is a device trademark. It is filed in Form TM-A on the trade marks register, in the class of the goods or services.
Does drawing a logo protect it?
A drawing can be an artistic work, so copyright can subsist in it. The right to stop another business using a similar logo on the same goods comes from trademark registration, or from prior use of the mark.
Can the word and the symbol be filed together?
Yes. A composite mark contains both. They can also be filed as two applications, so that the word remains protected if the symbol is later changed.
When is the logo registered?
After examination, advertisement, and the opposition window of four months. The certificate then lasts 10 years from the filing date. While the application is pending, the logo may carry ™, not ®.