Trade marks and their associated goodwill might be one of your business’s largest and most important assets. Many major companies profit primarily from their intellectual property and therefore focus heavily on marketing. Trade marks give you the exclusive right to use your brand asset on the goods or services you have registered for. Therefore, registering your trade mark is the most effective way of protecting your brand and its reputation. If you have more than one logo for your business, you might wonder if you should register a trade mark for all of these variations. This article will evaluate whether you should register a trade mark for multiple business logo variations.
Logo Variations
A logo variation is a modified or alternate version of your main logo. Logo variations allow you to be more flexible with your branding and promote the same recognisable visuals in different contexts. Logo variations also allow you to maintain consistency across platforms without impeding your ability to scale.
| Horizontal | A horizontal logo is usually the primary logo you use to market your brand. Most other variations will stem from your horizontal logo. A horizontal logo may include your business name, tagline and icon all in one. |
| Vertical | Vertical logos (also referred to as ‘stacked’ or ‘secondary’ logos) are scaled-down versions of your primary logo. It is often used as a simplified version of your primary logo where you are restricted by space. This is typically used on business cards or invoices. |
Icon-only | Icon logos are usually simplified, stand-alone icons that demonstrate your brand in a simple visual. A good example of this is the Nike tick. |
Text-only | Text logos contain only your company name in a signature font. This is often used on website listings and on merchandise. A good example of this is ‘Google’. Despite only using a single word, the use of colour and font makes ‘Google’ recognisable. |
One-colour | A one-colour logo is exactly as the name suggests, being that it is a neutral version of your logo that can be placed on any background or texture. |
Why Have Trade Mark Variations?
Creating a ‘family’ or collection of logos allows you to present a cohesive visual representation of your brand across any setting without compromising your brand recognition.
For example, consider your marketing materials. On your website header and letterheads, you will likely use the horizontal version of your trade mark. When establishing a social media presence, you will need a much more simplified logo that will fit within the dimension restriction. This is where the stacked logo will come in handy.
Continue reading this article below the formDo I Need to Register a Trade Mark Multiple Business Logo Variations?
When determining if you should protect all variations of your logo, you need to consider if you are using each of these variations. If you use each of these variations on different promotional products or on your website, leaving them unprotected comes with a certain level of risk.
Owning a trade mark registration for your primary logo means only that particular design will be protected. Therefore, you may need to be cautious about using other variations. This is because enforcing a registered trade mark will require you to demonstrate the other party is using an identical or confusingly similar trade mark to yours as registered.
Key Takeaways
If you have more than one logo for your business, you may wonder if you should register a trade mark for multiple business logo variations. In short, you should ideally register a trade mark for each of these variations. Some logo variations you might register a logo for include:
- horizontal;
- vertical;
- icon-only;
- text-only; and
- one-colour.
If you need assistance registering trade marks for your logo variations, our experienced trade mark lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you should ideally register all variations of your logo that you have. This would allow you to use your trade mark more freely and provide more certainty when it comes to enforcing your rights against another party.
Some logo variations you might register a logo for include horizontal, vertical and icon-only. Some other logo variations you might have include text-only and one-colour.
We appreciate your feedback – your submission has been successfully received.
