A logo is copyrighted the moment the design is drawn or saved, so nothing needs to be filed for you to own it. Registration is a separate step. You open an application in the Electronic Copyright Office, pay the filing fee, upload a copy of the artwork, and the Office either registers the claim or refuses it.
The certificate of registration is what opens the door to statutory damages and attorney’s fees if someone copies the logo later.
Approval isn’t guaranteed. The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices (Third Edition, section 914.1) says the Office typically refuses logos built only from lettering, with or without uncopyrightable ornamentation. A claim needs creative artwork beyond text and basic shapes.
Is a logo automatically copyrighted?
Yes, as long as the artwork is original enough to count as authorship. Protection starts when the design is fixed in a tangible form, like a sketch or a saved file. No filing is involved (U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 1).
The Office treats a work as fixed once it sits in a medium stable enough to be seen or copied for longer than a moment.
The owner controls reproduction of the artwork, derivative versions, distribution of copies and public display. Names, titles, short phrases and slogans fall outside that right, and so do familiar symbols, designs, and mere variations of lettering or coloring.
Copyright also says nothing about the logo as a brand identifier. Trademark law handles that.
Registration is optional. For U.S. works, though, you can’t file an infringement suit until the Office has either registered the work or refused it.
Which logos can actually be registered for copyright?
Only logos with creative authorship that goes past words, familiar symbols and basic shapes. A plain wordmark, a single letter or a circle-and-line mark gets refused.
What the Copyright Office looks for
The logo has to be independently created, and it has to show at least a little creativity. The Supreme Court set that bar very low in Feist v. Rural Telephone (1991).
Low sounds easy until the screening starts. Words, numbers, familiar symbols and common geometric shapes get set aside first (37 CFR 202.1(a); Compendium 313.4(C) and 906.1 to 906.4). Whatever is left has to be selected and arranged creatively as a whole.
Typeface designs and lettering variations are excluded as well, so a logo built on a standard typeface gives the Office nothing to register.
imprint learned this in 2023. Its logo was a blue “4”, the word “imprint” in black lowercase, a blue dot and a curved arc, and it was refused at every stage. The Review Board also stated that trademark protection under the Lanham Act had no bearing on copyright eligibility (Review Board decision, August 4, 2023).
The Board’s letters rule out attractiveness, time spent, symbolism and commercial success as factors too, a point INTA’s 2019 review quotes.
Logo types that are refused most often
As of March 2019, INTA counted 35 Review Board letters in the “Labels and Logos” category, and 31 of them affirmed the refusal (INTA Bulletin, 2019).
Only appealed refusals are in that sample, so logos approved at the first review never show up in it.
The refused logos mostly look like one of these:
- A name set in an off-the-shelf typeface
- Letters and numbers, including monograms, initials and stylized single characters
- Circles, triangles, arcs and lines in a simple arrangement
- Familiar symbols such as stars, globes or arrows with minor variations
The Board’s opinions index still lists affirmed logo refusals in 2026, Atec among them.
The best-known reversal is American Airlines’ Flight Symbol in December 2018. The applicant supplied a higher-resolution copy whose shading showed creative choices the original deposit hid, and the Board registered the logo on that basis, per INTA.
Even a registered logo built from common shapes gets thin protection. INTA’s takeaways note that it covers only the original elements, and only against near-identical copying.
Who owns the copyright in a logo?
The designer owns it by default. The exceptions are an employee’s work made for hire, which belongs to the employer, and any logo whose copyright the designer has signed over in writing.
Employee and freelancer logos
A logo an employee creates within the scope of the job is a work made for hire, so the employer counts as author and owner. Courts apply the common-law agency factors from CCNV v. Reid, such as who supplied the tools, how long the relationship ran and how the person was paid (Circular 30, revised 2024).
A commissioned logo is a different story. It counts as made for hire only if it falls into one of the statute’s listed categories (atlases, tests, translations, compilations and similar) and both sides sign a written agreement saying so. A standalone logo rarely fits a category, so the designer usually keeps the copyright until it is assigned in writing.
A transfer generally must be in writing and signed by the owner. Recording it with the Copyright Office is optional but carries legal advantages (Circular 1, 2021).
Holding the final logo file doesn’t make you the copyright owner, which Circular 1 spells out.
How long the protection lasts
Term depends on who the law treats as the author, under 17 U.S.C. 302.
| Author | Term of protection |
|---|---|
| Individual designer | Life of the designer plus 70 years |
| Joint work by several designers | 70 years after the last surviving author dies |
| Work made for hire | 95 years from publication or 120 from creation, whichever expires first |
So a logo an employee created and published in 2026 runs out in 2121, because 95 years from publication comes before 120 years from creation.
How to register a logo copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office
You start an online application in the Electronic Copyright Office, pay the filing fee, upload a copy of the logo, and wait for the Office to register or refuse the claim. Logos and graphic designs sit on the Office’s list of visual arts works it registers (U.S. Copyright Office, Visual Arts page).
- Check that the logo has creative artwork beyond lettering, familiar symbols and basic shapes.
- Identify the author and the claimant. They differ when the logo was made for hire or assigned in writing.
- Open a new claim at copyright.gov/registration and select the visual arts work type.
- Enter the title, year of creation, publication status, author and claimant, and flag any preexisting material.
- Pay the nonrefundable filing fee online.
- Upload the deposit copy, then watch your email for examiner questions.
For cases closed between October 2025 and March 2026, the Copyright Office reports an average of 4.1 months across all claims, and 3.6 months for an online application with an uploaded deposit that needed no correspondence.
The federal shutdown from October 1 to November 12, 2025 pushed those averages up, and the Office expects them to fall again.
The effective date of registration is the day the Office receives an acceptable application, deposit and fee, so a slow review doesn’t push the date back.
Delays usually come from uploading a file when a physical copy is required, using a file type that isn’t on the eCO list, replying slowly or only in part to the examiner, or filing an application that doesn’t match the ownership facts.
Preparing the deposit copy
The deposit is a nonreturnable copy of the logo, and the examiner judges the claim against it.
Electronic uploads work for unpublished works and for works published only electronically. They also work for published works when the requirement is identifying material (Copyright Office, eCO upload tutorial). Anything outside those categories needs a physical copy mailed in after the online application.
The eCO list of acceptable image files includes JPEG, TIFF, PDF, PNG, GIF, BMP and PSD, each up to 500 MB. A logo drawn as vector graphics should be exported to PDF first, since native Illustrator and SVG files aren’t on the list.
A flattened export works too. A high-resolution JPEG is accepted, and a TIFF avoids compression loss.
Upload the highest-resolution version, because the examiner sees only what the deposit shows. For one logo, a single file is usually enough.
Single Application or Standard Application, and what does it cost?
Use the Single Application only when one individual created the logo and still owns all of it. Every other logo goes on the Standard Application, including logos made by employees and logos bought from freelancers.
The Single Application is limited to one work, and the author must be the only claimant. Work made for hire doesn’t qualify (37 CFR 202.3(b)(2)(i)(B); Copyright Office Circular 11).
| Application | Who can use it | Current electronic fee |
|---|---|---|
| Single | One individual who created and solely owns one work, not made for hire | $45 |
| Standard | Single-work claims that fail any Single requirement | $65 |
| Group of two-dimensional artworks | 2 to 20 published works by the same author, all published in the same year | $85 |
A designer filing their own logo can use Single, provided nobody else holds a share of the rights. Standard covers the rest. For an employee-made logo, name the employer as author and claimant. For a freelancer logo bought outright, the freelancer is the author and the buyer is the claimant by written transfer.
When the ownership facts are doubtful, file Standard. The $20 gap costs less than a claim built on the wrong form.
The Office sent Congress a final proposed fee schedule on July 14, 2026, raising Standard to $85 and Single to $55, which would widen that gap to $30. It dropped its March 2026 plan to eliminate the Single Application, and the Register can institute the new fees 120 days after submission, around mid-November 2026, unless Congress disapproves (Copyright Office, Proposed Fee Schedule and Analysis).
The Office aims to implement the new fees in fall 2026, so confirm the live fee page on the day you file.
Several published logos by the same designer can go on one group registration for two-dimensional artworks, which costs less than two Standard filings. Group fees are also under revision in the proposed schedule.
What happens if the Copyright Office refuses the logo?
The filing fee isn’t refunded and the logo keeps its automatic copyright. The applicant can appeal twice before the decision becomes final. For a logo that never had much creative authorship, a trademark application is usually the better use of money.
The first request is reviewed inside the Registration Program and must be postmarked within three months of the refusal. The Office answers within four months of receiving it (37 CFR 202.5; Compendium 1703.2).
A second request goes to the Review Board and must be postmarked within three months of the first response. Its decision is final agency action, and the only step left after it is a federal lawsuit seeking to compel registration (37 CFR 202.5; DLA Piper in Chambers, 2025).
Appeals cost $350 for the first request and $700 for the second, per claim (Copyright Office fee schedule).
INTA’s 2019 article gives a six-month window for the first request, while the regulation text says three months by postmark. Plan around three.
Colony Family Offices filed its logo (the letters C, F and O in white inside a light blue circle) on January 30, 2019. The Review Board affirmed the refusal on October 20, 2020, about 20 months later and after two appeals.
The company argued that similar logos had been registered. The Board answered that the Office decides each claim on its own facts, so earlier registrations set no pattern, and it described business initials inside a common shape as a basic, familiar configuration.
Filing for copyright is a poor use of money when the logo is initials or a name inside a circle or other stock shape, or when the brand’s value sits in the name rather than the artwork. In both cases the trademark route in the next section protects what the logo actually does.
Copyright or trademark for a logo: which one protects what?
Copyright protects the artwork in the logo. Trademark protects the logo’s job of identifying a business, and a plain wordmark usually qualifies for that alone, while a logo with real artwork can carry both.
What each right covers
Copyright protects the creative artwork itself, arises automatically at fixation, and reaches copying of the artwork on any product or medium.
Trademark works differently. It protects the logo as a source identifier for specific goods or services, and it arises through use, limited to the area where those goods or services are sold. Federal registration adds nationwide rights and the registration symbol.
The USPTO gives an example. A logo used for a woodworking business does not stop others from using a similar logo on unrelated goods or services. The TM and SM symbols are available without filing anything (USPTO, “What is a trademark?”).
Which to file first
A federal trademark application costs $350 per class of goods or services, so a logo used on shirts and for custom printing services costs $700 (USPTO fee information, effective January 18, 2025).
The copyright fee doesn’t multiply that way, because the application covers the work rather than a class of goods.
A name in standard type, with or without a basic shape, is a trademark-only case. A custom illustrated logo for a real brand should get both filings, trademark first if only one budget exists. And if the logo is sold or licensed as artwork, copyright registration matters most, since the artwork is the asset.
The USPTO keeps its fee too when an application fails. It states that it generally does not refund fees.
What does registration let you do when someone copies your logo?
It unlocks statutory damages and attorney’s fees, the remedies that make a small logo dispute worth bringing. They apply only when the registration predates the infringement or came within three months after first publication (Circular 1).
Timing is where owners lose. Fourth Estate had applied to register articles it licensed, sued before the Register had acted on the applications, and had the case dismissed, a result the Supreme Court unanimously upheld in 2019 (Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com).
A pending application does not count for federal court. Because examination takes months and statutory damages depend on registration predating the copying, registering before a copy appears matters more than registering quickly afterward.
In federal court, statutory damages run $750 to $30,000 per work, up to $150,000 for willful infringement (17 U.S.C. 504(c)). The Copyright Claims Board caps a proceeding at $30,000 in total. Its statutory damages go up to $15,000 per work when the work was timely registered, and $7,500 per work and $15,000 per proceeding when it wasn’t. A smaller claims track covers $5,000 or less.
A takedown notice goes to a platform’s designated DMCA agent, and no registration is required first (Copyright Office, Section 512 resources).
The Claims Board is a voluntary online tribunal that accepts a claim with an application pending, and it cannot order an infringer to stop unless the infringer agrees. It cannot hear claims against respondents outside the United States, and a respondent has 60 days to opt out, after which the owner’s route is federal court (CCB claimant information).
Federal court is the route for an injunction, and it needs the certificate of registration in hand.
For a logo copied on a marketplace listing, the takedown notice is usually the first move, since it needs no registration.
Logo Copyright FAQ
Does the copyright symbol on a logo do anything?
Yes, but it is optional. A copyright notice (the symbol, the year of first publication and the owner’s name) has not been required since March 1, 1989. It can defeat an innocent infringement defense, and it never replaces registration (Copyright Office Circular 1).
Is a copyrighted logo protected in other countries?
Not automatically. No single international copyright exists, so protection abroad depends on each country’s law. Treaties between the United States and most countries simplify the conditions for foreign works, and Circular 38A lists the countries that maintain copyright relations with the United States.
Can I copyright a logo made with a logo maker template?
Only the authorship you added can be claimed. The Office registers independently created work, so a logo assembled from stock template elements gives you little to register, and the platform’s license terms decide what you may do with those elements.
How do I check whether a logo is already registered?
Search the Copyright Office’s Copyright Public Records System (the successor to the Public Catalog) by title or claimant. Logos that were never registered will not appear there, and trademark filings live in a separate place, the USPTO’s trademark search database.
Can I register a logo that has been in use for years?
Yes. Registration can be made at any time during the life of the copyright (Circular 1). Statutory damages and attorney’s fees then apply only to infringement that begins after the registration date.
Keeping Logo Copyright Enforceable After Registration
Logo copyright stays enforceable only while the owner can show who made the artwork, when it was fixed, and how the rights reached the claimant.
An infringing act is actionable only within three years of its occurrence, and the same limit governs Copyright Claims Board proceedings (17 U.S.C. 507(b); Petrella v. MGM, 2014; Title 17, chapter 15).
Get a signed assignment on file before the logo goes into use. Keep dated source files with the deposit copy, and check for copies on a recurring schedule so any you find get acted on inside the three-year window.
Paperwork comes first because only the designer can sign it.
This order holds as of October 2026. A congressional disapproval of the pending fee schedule would change filing costs, not the sequence.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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