INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
61 Trademarks
Originality is seldom the explicit client goal of a new graphic identity project, but stretching yourself to develop a graphic identity that doesn’t look like anything else may help legally protect the mark in the marketplace.
Just like names and taglines, the law recognizes a company’s logo as its intellectual property. Of course, a designer wouldn’t intentionally create a logo that looked like an existing mark (especially in the same category or industry). However, so many logos have been developed in the last sixty years that finding common, universally understood shapes or cultural icons that haven’t already been used can be difficult.
Beginning your identity projects with research may make it harder to finish the work, but research must be included at some point in your design process. The ready availability of information and logo databases can help you find out whether you are getting close to a violation.
2. dtox day spa
Special Modern Design
Karen Barranco
3. Mercantile Exchange
TOKY Branding + Design
Eric Thoelke, Travis Brown
4. Morningside Athletic Club
Cue, Inc.
Alan Colvin
10 Tips for Developing a Protectable Graphic Identity
SOURCE
Mary C. Bonnema, Attorney McGarry Bair PC, Trademark Protection and Litigation mcgarrybair.com
1. Don’t be a copycat!
Make your identity unique and legally protectable.
2. Don’t adopt a descriptive identity.
For example, The Books & Mugs Store is too hard to protect.
3. Don’t step on toes.
Be aware of comparable trademarks or trade dress.
4. Evaluate risk.
Get a risk-assessment search and legal opinion done on any brand names/taglines/logos/trade dress you plan to use.
5. Protect patentable ideas.
If your new identity involves a new and unique invention, seek patent counsel as soon as possible.
6. Protect trademarks.
Register any trademarks associated with your new identity.
7 Protect copyrights.
Register any copyrights associated with your new identity.
8. Use proper notice markings.
It may be a bother, but use TM, SM, ®, ©, and “patent pending” for your intellectual property (IP) on the product, packaging, and in marketing and promotions.
9. Manage your IP assets.
If another company or outside individual helps you with your identity, logos, trade dress, copyrights, etc., make sure their IP rights are assigned/transferred to your company so you can own and enforce those rights.
10. Ask for help.
When in doubt—and even when not in doubt—seek IP counsel.
It didn’t take long for the People Design team to realize that their Pulse Roller mark looks similar to many marks already in existence—including dtox day spa. From an intellectual property standpoint, however, Pulse Roller is free to use the mark without fear of legal action because none of the companies with similar logos were direct competitors.