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. Not many people know what the difference is, and it’s not so easy to understand this issue, since both concepts really have a lot in common. But before finding the 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 that is created by special organizations, enterprises, companies, firms and even 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
For the first time this concept appeared at the beginning of the XIX century. Then no one thought about the difference between a logo and a trademark. A logo appeared in the typography and meant the combination of several characters in a typographic font. There is an assumption that this concept appeared due to the increaseproductivity, increased competition and export growth.
Already at the end of the 19th century, the logo was used as a cliché. If somewhere it was necessary to repeat a combination of characters, they were saved as a template and used in certain cases. So, even the names of newspapers became the logo.
But over time, it became clear that the logo is more suitable for creating recognition of something. Therefore, any repeated stylized character style began to be called that.
Logo Reveal
For the first time, the use of the logo as a trademark coincided with the official registration of the latter. The logo was designed by the British Patent Office on January 1, 1876. The company Bass, a beer manufacturer, decided on this. It was decided to use the name of the trademark in combination with a graphic addition, which formed the logo.
Then many companies decided to work in this direction. After 10 years, Coca-Cola registered its 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. were engaged in drawing directly.
Becoming a logo
It didn't take long for the logo to become an integral part of the company. It was used along with trademarks, attributes, requisites, etc. All this belonged to the "brand block".
Many companies enjoyed using the logo so much thathe became almost the only identifier, and everyone forgot about the graphic trademark. An example of such a decision was the automobile concern Toyota.
Logo: purpose and types
To understand exactly what is the difference between a logo and a trademark, you need to understand the purpose of each of them. For the company, such a symbol is an image symbol. First of all, he is responsible for acting on others as an identifier. It is extremely important that the logo is so bright and interesting that it can be remembered at first sight. Initially, such graphic patterns appeared in order to be able to distinguish the same products from different companies: for example, cars, drinks, food and clothing.
In addition, the logo has a noticeable impact on consumer opinion: if it is a "no-name" organization, it is less trustworthy. For a logo to be successful, it must be:
- impressive - create the impression of what you see;
- expressive - identify the company, communicate the mission;
- actual - contact with the consumer;
- poetic - create an emotional background;
- referential - to inform the consumer about the product.
From here it becomes clear that the logo should be memorable, concise, expressive, associative, unique, original. And most importantly - memorable.
Now experts distinguish three types. This is:
- font style;
- brand name;
- brand block, which consists of a font style and a brand name.
Trademark
To understand why a logo is a trademark in some cases, it is necessary to consider the latter concept. What is it?
Immediately it is worth starting with the fact that a trademark is also called a trademark or trade mark. Because these are synonymous concepts that do not differ from each other.
A trademark has legal force, so 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, the trademark is issued an exclusive right and documentary evidence. The peculiarity of this designation is that its owner receives special rights to possession. He can use it, dispose of and prohibit others from using the trademark.
Trademark History
If the logo appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, then the trademark was known in the ancient world. There is information about Indian artisans who put their marks on products shipped to Iran. At that time, there was even a pottery stamp, which began to be copied and forged because of its popularity. One of the first trademarks was Vesuvinum, which was on packaged red wine 2,000 years ago.
Use of trademarks
It should be noted right away that the registration of a trademark is tied to a specific territory. Accordingly, trade protectionstamps occurs in those countries where the owner has 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 respective territory, and are also in civil circulation;
- on related documentation;
- on advertising signs, product offers, etc.;
- when performing relevant services or works;
- on the Internet, namely in the domain name and other addressing methods.
If the trademark is not mentioned in promotions, but is used for personal purposes, as well as in cases where the introduction of goods into civil circulation is not pursued, 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. Trademark can be anything:
- in a word;
- fictitious designation;
- name;
- advertising slogan;
- numbers;
- letters;
- pictures and symbols;
- and even sound.
Such variety. However, the law requires the right holder that the trademark be 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 "logo". Accordingly, registration of the 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 has been duly registered, it automatically becomes a trademark.
The difference between a trademark and a logo is that the former cannot always be the latter. This is a rare case, but it has the right to life: usually such a trademark has a unique combination of symbols and is indicated in official documents. In this case, it would be incorrect to call such a picture a 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 the legislative norms in relation to the second. You can also safely say that logos rarely contain only text design. Usually it is supplemented with graphic elements, abbreviations, etc.
The logo is also not indicated in official documents. Although it happens that a company uses a logo, it does nothas no legal effect. It is also worth understanding that the logo can be used separately from the trademark and vice versa. These are the main differences between the concepts.
Conclusions
What do a trademark and a logo have in common? As already mentioned, the logo can become a trademark if it is registered, respectively, one character will be both. A trademark can also be displayed as a logo, but it must be legally enforceable.
Understanding both concepts is not so easy, 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, up to a melody, like that of Nokia, but a logo is just a picture.
