# Trademark logo or logo design, which first or at all?



## Jenniferrn (Jul 26, 2020)

HI! 

Trying to figure out which comes first ...or even at all. But do you trademark your company name and name logo first or if you’re using a character or icon design do you trademark that first. 

OR do you do both at same time. Or is this even necessary? I was trying to read legal stuff and now my head is spinning. 

Any tips greatly appreciated!


----------



## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

You don't really need to trademark right away. Just by "using" your name and logo starts the process of owning the rights to the marks. You can even use the ™ symbol. Once you get off the ground, you can go through the legal steps of applying for a registered trademark, which is when you would be able to use the ® symbol.


----------



## TeedUp (Apr 22, 2020)

kimura-mma said:


> You don't really need to trademark right away. Just by "using" your name and logo starts the process of owning the rights to the marks. You can even use the ™ symbol. Once you get off the ground, you can go through the legal steps of applying for a registered trademark, which is when you would be able to use the ® symbol.


not a lawyer, but I think that's right. Do go into TESS and make sure no one else has registered the name already for a similar usage, it costs you nothing.


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

As @kimura-mma said.

Fly the TM on your name from day one on your labels, ads, web sites, whatever. That goes toward showing actual use in commerce, which you need to show when/if it comes to registering your trademark. Whoever can show first use in commerce wins, regardless of who registered first (well, ignoring the truism that whoever can afford the best lawyer wins).

I'm years into this, and still have not bothered to register my brand(s). Which brings up another thing to consider. You might end up ditching your first brand, or spinning off niche brands that vastly outshine your initial brand. Has certainly been the case for me.

The thing I would spend some time obsessing over is whether the DOT com URL is available for whatever names you are considering. Even if you will initially be starting on a marketplace, like Etsy, I'd only pick a name with an available URL, and I would buy it. Should only cost like $10 a year to hold onto that. I use NameCheap, but there are others that work just as well.


----------



## ricoske (Aug 26, 2020)

I think you can try having a design first and then if your clothing brand is getting famous, you can think about the brand rights.


----------



## BillShiphr (Aug 7, 2020)

I think that you should start with logo design


----------



## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

I would register the word mark first. After that you can get away with using any number of image marks (logos) protected by TM and copyright. When you find a logo distinctive enough you can then register that also. 

Image marks provide little or no protection to your trading name. If you start off by registering only an image mark then you risk someone registering a very similar name under a different word or image mark. That could make it hard to develop your brand in the future.


----------



## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

Make sure that the designer transfers the copyright of his design to you, not just ownership of the trademark. 
If your business takes off you could find that, while you own the trademark, the artist still owns the copyright. It will cost a lot more to buy the copyright when you are rich and famous.


----------



## DavidBarker (Jan 31, 2019)

keep us posted


----------

