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<\/div>This is because trademark rights arise only through the use of the logo in interstate or international commerce (such as when you offer items for sale and incorporate the logo in your marketing materials or on your products).<\/p>\n
For a brief primer on copyright law, I recommend you read Small Business Legal Issues: Copyright Basics<\/a>.<\/p>\n You are not required (at least in the United States) to register your trademark or service mark with the trademark office. You can acquire “common law rights<\/a>” simply by using the logo in commerce.<\/p>\n However, to successfully assert common law rights, you must show that your logo has become a distinctive identifier associated with your business or your goods or services. It’s impossible to make this showing if you’re using a logo that is also used by dozens, hundreds, or thousands of other businesses who bought the same ready-made logo.<\/p>\n Similarly, if you attempt to register for trademark protection, a generic logo used by many other businesses, your trademark registration will likely be refused.<\/p>\n Importantly, if another company – particularly one in your industry segment – is already using a very similar or identical logo based on the same generic ready-made template, you risk being sued for trademark infringement and exposing yourself – and your company – to high legal costs.<\/p>\n Because of these legal and business risks, crowdspring has a zero-tolerance policy concerning the use of stock art in logo projects<\/a>. We require each participating designer to disclose each time they submit a logo design<\/strong> that everything in their design is their original work (except perhaps the font, which may or may not need to be purchased separately).<\/p>\n You might wonder why you should care. After all, you could buy another generic logo if the first one doesn’t work out.<\/p>\n You can. But, the logo is an essential element of your company’s brand identity<\/a>. Having invested time, money, and resources in your branding<\/a>, you’ll find it both challenging and risky to change your brand suddenly. Rebranding<\/a> can be a great way to evolve an existing brand, but you should not assume that rebranding is cheap or quick.<\/p>\n What should you do to protect yourself and avoid these legal and business risks? Run from generic templates and logo stores selling generic ready-made logos to multiple buyers.<\/p>\n
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