Why Are Trademarks and Copyrights So Important?
Once you create a website you should register your business name and make your logo. At that time you’ll need a copyright and trademark registration because that will protect your name and logo from infringement. You need to make sure you secure the rights to your intellectual property and ensure no other company steals your idea and logo design, which is the primary idea behind copyright and trademark.
Both copyrights and trademarks provide you with an excellent way to protect your original ideas from being used as the property of someone else. This is, without question, the most important benefit they offer you.
Trademarks never expire, so as long as you’re using your trademark in commerce to identify the source of your products or services, people will identify your business by it. It’s a valuable asset and a very effective communication tool that can instantly communicate the image of your company and the products or services you offer to customers.
Trademarks offer far more protection than copyrights, but copyrights are extremely important for the protection of logos. Read on to explore in detail the difference between the two, so that you can better understand their importance and the impact they can have on your company.
The Difference between Trademarks and Copyrights
If you only copyright your name or logo without trademarking it, you cannot fully protect it against infringement. You’re only securing your rights to it since it is something you have created and it is your intellectual property. A trademark can protect your name and logo in case someone else wants to use them for their own purposes.
What Is a Trademark?
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of them, that’s used to distinguish one manufacturer or seller from others operating in the same field of business and offering the same products or services. This means that you can register a trademark for your business name, logo, slogan, symbol, design, and anything else that contributes to the brand identity of your company and the products or services you offer.
Your trademark is used to notify others that your company’s products, name, and logo are your property. You have the exclusive right to use them in connection with your services or products.
However, a trademark does not encompass the colors and designs of logos, since it doesn’t protect against unlicensed copying. It only refers to similarities between the company’s mark and others that closely resemble it. Therefore, it does not refer to the uses of the logo, but rather to the confusion in the marketplace, thus limiting what uses of the logo could be found infringing. This means that if someone else is using a similar logo design, it cannot refer to trademark infringement, but rather copyright infringement.
Simply using your trademark does not protect you from someone else in the same industry using your name or design—but registering your trademark does. In the case of someone else using the same name or design as your company’s, you’ll have to prove that you came up with it first, which is not possible if you haven’t registered it.
Without registering your trademark, you have no legal defense in case of a lawsuit. A registered trademark is a federal and legal registration of your company’s mark, so if anyone else wants to register a name or design that’s the same or too similar to yours, they will be guilty of trademark infringement.
What Is Copyright?
A copyright protects original works, such as books, songs, paintings, photography, movies, choreography and other original works of authorship that are expressed in a physical form. According to the United States Copyright Office, copyright protects original works such as “literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works.”
Companies can copyright their audio and video materials, their books and reports, as well as any other original material they created, such as the design of their logo. It’s important to note that every original work is copyrighted at the moment of its creation. But registering it is what protects it from someone else trying to use it for their own purposes since you will have a document to prove your claim to it.
If anyone tries to steal your original creation, such as your logo, which is your own intellectual property, and use it as their own, you can sue them over the use of your property—but only if you have a copyright registration.
When you have a federally registered copyright, you can control exactly how your intellectual property is used, published, and distributed, as well as exactly how it is presented to the public. And you can prevent anyone from using it for their own purposes. If someone tries to do so, you can sue them in a federal court, because you have claimed your right to your intellectual property by copyrighting it.
Now, there is a trick when it comes to the copyright protection of your logo. Your logo must have the required level of creativity in order for it to be actually considered copyrightable and for your copyright application to be approved. Therefore, many very simple logos are not considered copyrightable, since copyright does not protect your logo design, colors, and name. If your logo is a bit more artistic or ornate, you’ll find it easier to get your copyright registered.
We have already registered Trade Mark, Copy Rights, and Designs for the following Clients:
- Master City (Pvt) Ltd
- Nazran Sports (Pvt) Ltd
- M H Geoffrey and Sons
- Climax Engg Co Ltd.
- Fico Electric (Pvt) Ltd
- Fico Hi-Tech (Pvt) Ltd
- Diamond Pumps Gujranwala
Khurram Ahmed Saeed
