In the clothing industry, branding is everything. To be successful, you must protect and manage your brand while your business and your clothing line grow. A trademark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, is the best way to both protect and maintain control of your brand.
Can you copyright a piece of clothing?
Copyright protects the creators of intellectual property of works of art, which means your design cannot be reproduced or duplicated without your permission. However, clothing is considered a "useful article." This means you cannot copyright the clothes themselves, or even the design.
Should I trademark my brand name and logo?
For this reason, you should apply for both trademark registrations if you have a business name and a logo you wish to protect. If someone directly counterfeits your goods or services using both a similar name and logo, you want to have the advantage of the protection under both a word mark and a design mark.
Can you patent clothing ideas?
Clothing can be patented. Most of the time, you would patent the unique design of your apparel with a design patent. Clothing companies will often patent a unique design to prevent other companies from imitating it. If you hold design patent rights, you could sell or license them to a clothing company.
How do I copyright my clothing logo?
Designers or companies interested in the trademark of a clothing line can file an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to register all products and services flowing from the fictitious DBA name on the application.
Can you copy clothing design for personal use?
Brands are able to keep copying one another because of outdated legal doctrines. Unlike music, drama, literature, and art, fashion is not — and never has been — adequately protected under American copyright law, meaning clothing designs can be duplicated without permission.
Should I trademark my product name?
A trademark for your product is the most effective way to ensure that no other company can potentially cut in on your profits by selling similar products or goods with your brand name on them. It safeguards the earning potential of your business.
Is it important to trademark your logo?
Trademark it. Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds and colors and distinguish one company's goods and products from another. Trademarking a logo not only protects it from being used by other similar companies, it also protects a company from unknowingly infringing upon an existing logo.
How does copyright work with clothing?
Copyright law protects the designs on the surface of clothing just as it protects designs on the surface of a canvas or sheet of paper. A producer of fabrics can rely on copyright to protect “designs imprinted in or on fabric- if the design contains a sufficient amount of creative expression.”
How much of a design can I copy?
This myth of the “30% rule” is pervasive and widely cited around the Internet, but it is simply false. There is no 30% rule, and any time you copy someone else's writings, drawings, website, or other creative work, you run the risk of copyright infringement.
Do I need to trademark my company name and logo?
There's no legal requirement for you to register a trademark. Using a business name can give you 'common law' rights, even without formally registering it. However, as expected, trademark law is quite complex.Feb 2, 2012
What can and Cannot be patent?
Certain things can never be patented, regardless of how well they meet these four standards. They include the elements, theoretical plans, laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas. So patenting fire or the wheel is out, though some people have tried.
How do I trademark my clothing logo?
- Choose a name and design a logo. First, choose a name for your clothing label and design a logo that works with it.
- Identify the goods you want to protect.
- Search the USPTO database.
- Choose your basis for filing.
- File your application.
How do I copyright my brand name clothing?
You can gain protection for your clothing brand by having your lawyer file a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This entitles you to legal protections for your brand, including the brand name, slogan, or logo. For example, consider the classic Nike brand.
What Cannot be protected by copyright?
Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. However, copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship. In some circumstances, an artistic logo may also be protected as a trademark.
Do you have to trademark a logo and name separately UK?
No. Trademarking your logo only grants you trademark protection in the country where you filed for the trademark. Although trademarking your logo in one country can make it easier to trademark it in another, you need to file for a separate trademark in every country where you want that legal protection.
What happens if you don't trademark a logo?
If you do not register your trademark, you will have legal rights only within the geographic areas where you operate. This means you may be able to stop a subsequent user of the mark, even if it is a bigger company, from using the mark in your geographic area only.
How much does it cost to copyright a clothing brand name?
The basic cost to register a trademark with the USPTO is $350 per class of goods. Depending on your brand offerings, you may need to register in multiple classes. If your brand includes both clothing and purses, for instance, you'll pay the basic application fee for both classes of goods.