Patent Attorney and Founder
Question:
Can I add a logo to each word to register the logo as well with no additional cost? I currently don’t have one, but I know how to register a logo separately later.
Answer:
Matt: The government treats that as a separate application. Even if you go to the USPTO and say, “I have a word mark and the design mark includes the word mark,” they will still say you need to either file a word mark or a design mark. Now, a design mark could protect the logo and the words, but only in a stylized format. If you want comprehensive protection, you probably want to do both a word mark and a design mark. If you have to choose between the two, I would go with a word mark if you can register it. They’re always a bit more complicated to register than a typical design mark, though.
JD: Why the word mark over the design mark?
Matt: I like word marks because they don’t claim color, font, or design language. From an enforceability standpoint, when comparing your trademark registration against potential infringers, if it’s a word mark, as long as it includes the words in your trademark or similar words, that can be a violation of your trademark, assuming the services and products are similar. If you have a design mark, you’ll have to argue that it’s the words associated with it that you’re trying to enforce against a third party, making it a bit more narrow in terms of enforcement.
JD: Perfect, that makes sense. Thank you.