How Much Does It Cost To Register Standard Character Mark With Uspto?

What are the differences between "special grade" (stylized, design, logo) trademarks and "standard graphic symbol" (word) trademarks?

The 2 basic trademark types are these: (1) "special grade" trademarks and (2) "standard character" trademarks. A "special grade" trademark that consists of stylized words, messages, numbers and/or a design element such equally a logo. A "standard character" trademark consists only of words, messages, or numbers, with no stylization, color or pattern element.

The outcome comes upwardly this manner: A company or an private wants to trademark a brand or company name. So far so good. The first question is does this private or company have a particular blueprint or logo for its proper noun? If non, then the just type of trademark registration bachelor is a "character" or word marker. If a design or logo is in the mix, and then the question is whether or not that design or logo has any value to the visitor. Obviously examples are the Nike "swoosh" and the Coca-Cola script logo. These are skilful examples of designs or logos that – carve up from the names of the companies themselves – take distinct trademark value for their owners.

Here are iii situations where a logo may accept no detail firsthand value to the company, and therefore no particular trademark value:(ane) There is goose egg unique about the blueprint or logo. Technically, a "stylized" trademark includes anything beyond just the proper name itself. But a rendering of the proper name in italics or a particular color or in a common geographic box – or whatsoever of these things without more – would not typically exist the subject of trademark considering there'south nothing unique about the design.

A case in point: The maker of Georgi vodka began distributing an orange-flavored vodka in 1996, marketing the vodka using a "big elliptical 'O' actualization below the 'Georgi' logo". Bacardi subsequently came out with its ain orangish-flavored rum, also using the big elliptical 'O' in its marketing and production branding. In the ensuing litigation, the court noted that "Mutual basic shapes or messages are, as a matter of law, not inherently distinctive. However, stylized shapes or messages may qualify, provided the pattern is not commonplace merely rather unique or unusual in the relevant market." Star Indus. Inc. 5. Bacardi & Co., LTD., 412 F.3d 373 (2d Circuit, 2005).

(ii) Even if the design or logo is threshold-level unique, in that location may be no detail association in the marketplace of the design with the trademark possessor. A simpler way to retrieve about this is to inquire whether the trademark owner would expect that its market would come to associate the particular logo or design with the trademark owner. A case in bespeak: A services firm similar a police house or accounting or consulting firm, where the name itself – rather than the design or logo – is the "brand".

The question is, what is the value that the trademark owner seeks to protect? Is information technology the name of the company? Is it a particular logo or design associated with that name? How will the business exist marketed, and how will the market come to associate the proper name with the visitor – via the name itself or via the logo, or both?

(3) Unless the logo or design incorporates the proper noun within the design (normally referred to as a "design plus words mark"), a stylized trademark registration will not obtain protection for the name itself. And fifty-fifty to the extent that a stylized marking registration incorporates the name and does protect the proper name, the force and value of that protection may be limited.

Amongst registered trademarks for "Coca-Cola", the iconic script logo has long held registration status. Withal, the Coca-Cola Visitor too has trademark registrations (numerous ones, in fact) for the proper noun "Coca-Cola" without the blueprint. Arguably, the stylized logo registration grants adequate protection for the proper name itself, but non necessarily. Technically, trademark rights in the name itself are tied only to the pattern. To the extent the name is used separate from the design, protection is either more limited. Of class, at that point, the illustrative value of a "famous" trademark like "Coca-Cola" is express, because the name itself has acquired market place recognition well beyond the logo and, in any event, the company separately registered the character mark years ago.

Two further points about this:

As Brian Hall has written, where an existing prior trademark registration might forbid a trademark owner'south ability to obtain grapheme mark registration (based on "likelihood of confusion"), "the boosted design feature of the mark will non but make the marking distinctive but distinguishable from the existing filing and/or registration so equally to entitle you lot to a trademark registration with the USPTO." So, it's possible to apply the availability of a stylized filing to become a marker where you lot couldn't otherwise get one.

As another commentator, JSonnabend, has noted, "if the stylization is modest, registration of the stylized word mark (and then to speak) still gives a dandy degree of protection for the brand name". The point is, as with all things trademark, the more distinctive and distinguishable the trademark – whether a character lone or a stylized pattern – the greater the strength (and value) of the trademark. And so, every bit noted above, a specially unique logo tin can qualify for trademark registration even where the pattern includes a word that is otherwise registered past a previous owner. But, the price of obtaining that kind of registration is that the protection for trademark really won't extend to where the name is used separate from the design. On the other paw, where the stylized trademark meets the distinctiveness threshold simply is not overly distinctive, registration of a logo that includes the word mark tin can provide decent protection for the word mark lonely.

(Image courtesy of Flickr user verbeeldingskr8 licensed under a Creative Commons license.)