Your company logo is the face of your brand. It’s a visual entity that your customers identify your products and services with. It has a significant impact on how the public perceived your company, making it look more professional and premium.
Following this, there’s no doubt that one of the most important branding efforts one should make is creating a unique logo.
In today’s world, designing a logo is no longer complex or expensive with new logo creator tech entrepreneurs can create their own logo in minutes as if they were pro designers.
This is a great thing, yet, since so many logos can be created in just a few steps, practically by everyone, once you make your logo you must get it copyrighted.
What is Copyright?
In legal terms, copyright means your ownership of a particular piece of work or design is embodied in an exclusive right. It allows you to protect your product from being used by others without your permission.
The following are some of the things that you should know about copyrighting a logo design:
You Can’t Copyright Everything
There are certain things that you can’t copyright. These are titles, names, slogans, measurement charts, etc. However, you can trademark these entities.
The difference between copyright and trademark is that the former allows the owner to have an exclusive right to protect their work while the latter is used to distinguish the owner’s name, slogan, etc. from the competitors.
Copyright Registration
To copyright your logo, just follow these steps:
# Make your logo creative and original as much as possible. Only then it can qualify as a piece of art for copyright. You should also check that you aren’t copying someone else’s design, which you can do by doing online research and visiting sites like Global Brand Database.
# Add the copyright symbol to your logo. It’s the letter c in lowercase contained in a circle – ©. Otherwise, you can also use the word Copyright with the logo.
# If possible, you can include the year of publication with the logo which is the year when the logo is published.
# When a logo is created, then the creator owns the copyright of the design initially. However, they can transfer the rights to others including the name of the original copyright holder. You can also take this step, if necessary.
# Once a logo is copyrighted, the next recommended step is registration. Registering your logo will bar others from its reproduction or distribution of its rights to others. Although, you need to register your US copyrighted logo with the US Copyright Office in the Library of Congress before you can sue anyone who infringes upon your logo.
# You can easily register your logo online. For this, you just need to pay a small fee and submit your logo to the Copyright Office along with an application.
Reasons to Copyright
Having a copyrighted logo allows you to prevent others from using the design for their products or services without consent. If anyone tries to copy your logo, then you can claim for your copyright and even get adequate compensation if the case allows. A copyright logo also looks more professional and helps in building trust with your customers.
Don’t Delay, Copyright Today!
In today’s competitive business environment, branding has become more important than ever. There are so many small and large organizations in different corners of the world who compete for the same customers and only those who have strong brands are able to stand out from the rest.
Since a company logo is an integral part of a brand, you must create a good one as soon as possible and also copyright it to protect it from unethical entities. So, what are you waiting for?
