We are surrounded by many concepts that we supposedly know, but do not always understand the difference. The same situation has developed with the logo and trademark. What not many people know the difference, and understanding this issue is not so simple, since both concepts really have a lot in common. But before you find common and individual features of the logo and trademark, you need to consider each concept separately.
Logo
This is a sign of recognition and identification. Most often it is an emblem, symbol or some kind of picture created by special organizations, enterprises, companies, firms and even private individuals in order to become memorable. Often a logo can decipher what it identifies. He does this through a combination of letters or ideograms.
Logo story
This concept first appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. Then no one thought about the difference between a logo and a trademark. A logo appeared in the printing house and meant the union of several characters in a typographic font. There is an assumption that this concept appeared due to increased productivity, increased competition and increased exports.
Already at the end of the 19th century, the logo was used as a cliche. If somewhere it was necessary to repeat the combination of characters, they were saved as a template and used in certain cases. So, even the names of newspapers became a logo.
But over time, it became clear that the logo is more suitable for the formation of recognition of something. Therefore, any repeated stylized style of characters began to be called so.
Logo appearance
For the first time as a trademark, the use of the logo coincided with the official registration of the latter. The logo was issued by the British Patent Office on January 1, 1876. The company Bass, a beer producer, decided on this. It was decided to use the trademark name in combination with a graphic addition, which formed the logo.
Then many companies decided to work in this direction. After 10 years, she registered her Coca-Cola logo, and it has not changed much by now. Interestingly, non-professional artists worked on symbolic images at that time. Usually, the owner, his assistants, accountants, etc. directly engaged in drawing.
Logo Formation
The logo did not need much time in order to become an integral part of the company. It was used along with trademarks, attributes, requisites, etc. All this belonged to the “corporate block”.
Many companies liked using the logo so much that it became almost the only identifier, and everyone forgot about the graphic trademark. An example of such a solution was the Toyota automobile concern.
Logo: purpose and types
To understand exactly what the difference between a logo and a trademark is, you need to understand the purpose of each of them. For a company, such a symbol is an image. First of all, he is responsible for acting on others as an identifier. It is imperative that the logo is so bright and interesting that it can be remembered at a glance. Initially, such graphic drawings appeared in order to be able to distinguish the same goods from different companies: for example, cars, drinks, food and clothes.
In addition, the logo has a significant impact on the opinion of consumers: if it is a “noun" organization, there is less confidence in it. For the logo to be successful, it must be:
- impressive - create an impression of what he saw;
- expressive - identify the company, report on the mission;
- actual - to contact the consumer;
- poetic - to create an emotional background;
- reference - inform the consumer about the product.
From this it becomes clear that the logo should be memorable, concise, expressive, associative, unique, original. And most importantly - memorable.
Now experts distinguish three types. It:
- font style;
- company logo;
- brand block, which consists of a font style and a brand name.
Trademark
To understand why a logo is a trademark in some cases, you need to consider the last concept. What is he like?
It’s worth starting right away with the fact that a trademark also refers to a trademark or trademark. Because these are synonymous concepts that are no different from each other.
A trademark has legal force, therefore there is information about it in the legislation. It says that the concept is a designation for the individualization of goods of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. In the same place, a trademark is granted exclusive right and documentary evidence. A feature of this designation is that its owner receives special ownership rights. He may use it, dispose of and prohibits the use of the trademark to others.
Trademark history
If the logo appeared at the beginning of the XIX century, then the trademark was known in the ancient world. There is evidence of Indian artisans who marked their products shipped to Iran. At that time there was even a pottery stigma, which they began to copy and fake because of its popularity. One of the first trademarks was Vesuvinum, which was on packed red wine 2 thousand years ago.
Use of trademarks
It is immediately worth noting that the registration of a trademark is tied to a specific territory. Accordingly, trademark protection takes place in those countries where the owner received the relevant documents. Theoretically, you can get an international document, for example, in the European Union. In this case, the trademark will be protected in all EU countries.
The trademark owner can control it only in the case of civil circulation. Namely:
- on products, labels, packaging of any goods that are produced in the relevant territory, as well as are in civil circulation;
- on relevant documentation;
- on advertising signs, product offers, etc .;
- in the performance of relevant services or work;
- on the Internet, namely in a domain name and other addressing methods.
If a trademark is mentioned in non-promotional events, but is used for personal purposes, as well as in cases where the introduction of goods into civil circulation is not prosecuted, it is not protected by legal law. This must be remembered.
Types of Trademarks
What is the difference between a logo and a trademark? For example, in implementation. A trademark can be anything:
- in a word;
- fictitious designation;
- by name;
- advertising motto;
- in numbers;
- Letters
- pictures and symbols;
- and even sound.
So much variety. However, the law requires the copyright holder to have the trademark as an identifier, but not mislead the consumer.
Difference
So, what is the difference between a trademark and a logo? First of all, the difference lies in the legal field. The fact is that in the regulation of copyright in Russian legislation there is no concept of a “logo”. Accordingly, registration of a logo is not required. But the design of a trademark is regulated in detail.
It should be understood that the logo may not always be protected by law. But if it was registered in the prescribed manner, it automatically becomes a trademark.
The difference between a trademark and a logo is that the first may not always be the second. This is a rare case, but it has the right to life: usually such a trademark has a unique combination of a symbol and is indicated in official documents. In this case, such a picture would be incorrect to name the logo.
Sometimes a logo and a trademark have nothing in common. For example, Pepsi has registered its name as a trademark. But in parallel, she has her own logo, which does not include the name itself. It is also registered and cannot be used by other companies.
The difference between a logo and a trademark is legislative norms in relation to the second. You can also safely say that logos rarely contain only textual design. Usually it is supplemented by graphic elements, abbreviations, etc.
The logo is also not indicated in official documents. Although it happens that the company uses the logo, but it does not have any legal force. It is also worthwhile to understand that the logo can be used separately from the trademark and vice versa. These are the main differences of concepts.
findings
What does a trademark and logo have in common? As already mentioned, the logo can become a trademark if it is registered, respectively, one symbol will be both. Also, a trademark may be displayed in the form of a logo, but it must be fixed by legal standards.
Understanding both concepts is not so simple, because there are some nuances that you just need to know. But the main thing to understand for yourself is that a trademark is a legal concept, but a logo is not. At the same time, a trademark can be absolutely diverse, right down to the melody like Nokia’s, but the logo is just a picture.