Trademarking your logo

[Rampart]

Does anyone know or have any experience with trademarking a logo. What do I need to do legally in order to place the "TM" next to my logo?

[JPDesign]

STEP 1: Determine whether you need trademark, patent, or copyright protection.

STEP 2: Determine whether you should hire a trademark attorney.

STEP 3: Identify your mark format: a standard character mark, a stylized/design mark, or a sound mark.

STEP 4: Identify clearly the precise goods and/or services to which the mark will apply.

STEP 5: Search the USPTO database to determine whether anyone is already claiming trademark rights in a particular mark through a federal registration.

STEP 6: Identify the proper "basis" for filing a trademark application.

STEP 7: File the application online through the Trademark Electronic Application System.

http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/index.jsp

[creativelysain]

Or you could just put the TM there and trademark it yourself.

[JPDesign]

You can put the TM there...but it effectively does nothing. If someone else took your logo, and trademarked it they could sue you for using their logo.

[BBTV]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a trademark be for a logo used to represent a commercial company - hence the name - a "trade mark" - a mark that represents or distinguishes a company that engages in some kind of trade?

So you wouldn't "trademark" a design or logo or concept or anything that you created for your personal use, right? That would just fall under copyright.

I have absolutely no education in any of this, so that's just what I've always assumed - if I'm off base, I'd welcome being corrected.

[JPDesign]

Correct. You only need to trademark a logo if it is representing a good or service that you want to protect from being copied. For example, the "Tide Pods" logo is trademarked so that nobody else can use that logo/name to try and benefit from association with that brand.

A personal design/logo can be protected under copyright law. Unless you are mass-producing goods that will be distributed, likely you don't need a trademark.

[aawagner011]

Going off of this, I believe he will automatically acquire copyright protection without having to take any action to obtain the protection. It is my understanding that the protection is obtained upon creation of the work. At least this is how I remember it from my legal studies course.