Logos are one of the types of protection that individuals and businesses prioritize to avoid unfortunate and unwanted infringements. And when it comes to logo protection, there will be two different protection forms: trademark protection and copyright owner protection for the logo. Therefore, what is the difference between these two forms of protection? Please follow VCD’s article below.
1. What is copyright protection and trademark protection?
According to Clause 16, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law, a trademark is a sign to distinguish the goods and services of different organizations and individuals. Trademarks are one of the protected objects of industrial property rights. The granting of a protection title to a trademark by a State agency is to protect that trademark from infringement. A trademark will be protected if it simultaneously meets the following two conditions:
- Signs used here must be visible and can be in the form of letters, words, drawings, images, including three-dimensional images, or a combination of the above elements, expressed in one or more colors sharp.
- That sign is capable of distinguishing the goods and services of the trademark owner from those of other entities.
Copyright is the right of organizations and individuals to works they create or own (Clause 2, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law), including the rights that the law gives to the owner of the work. work on naming and titling the work… The author or owner has the right to modify transmit and disseminate the work to the public by allowing others to participate in the process of exploiting the created work. work. Protection of copyright owners means that the State agency records documents that protect the personal and property rights of the owners and the copyright owner is allowed to use legal methods to Protect your copyright objects against any infringement. Protecting copyright owners not only prevents acts of intellectual property infringement but also solves the problem of copyright infringement as well as handling compensation issues.
For registration of logo protection, there are currently two methods: registering for protection as a trademark and registering for protection as the copyright owner of a work of applied art. So what’s the difference between these two methods?
2. Distinguish between two methods of registering logo protection
| Element | Register trademark | Register the copyright owner |
| Object | Industrial property: Trademarks, inventions, designs, etc. | Copyright, specifically: Works of applied art |
| Purpose | To distinguish your goods or services of the same type from other products | To prove your ownership of the work, not to distinguish goods or services |
| Mechanism for establishing rights | Must register and be granted a certificate by the National Office of Intellectual Property | Protected as soon as the work is created, registration is not necessary. If registered, it will be easy to prove ownership to third parties or when a dispute arises. The burden of proof will be on the non-registering or later-registered party. |
| Appraisal mechanism | Strict because it must be compared with previously submitted applications | Fast because it is based on the commitment and assurance of the owner and author |
| Scope of protection | Registering a trademark will protect both semantics, presentation, and color… This is a very strong protection measure because if someone else uses a similar logo, it will be considered a violation of intellectual property rights. However, trademarks are only protected within the scope of registered products and services. If someone else uses that logo for another product or service, it will not be considered a violation. | Registered copyright owners will protect the author’s creative works. However, the level of copyright protection is weaker than trademark protection because only when someone uses an identical or maximally similar logo, that person will be infringing copyright. |
| Time for appraisal and return of results | According to the law, the time for appraisal and return of results is 12 months, but in reality, this time can last up to 24 months. | According to the law, the time for appraisal and return of results is 45 days but in reality, this time can last 2 months. |
| Term of protection | The term of protection is 10 years and can be renewed multiple times, each time for 10 years | Moral rights are protected indefinitely; Property rights are protected for 75 years for works published for the first time |
| Management agency | Department of Intellectual Property – Ministry of Science and Industry | Copyright Office – Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism |
Meanwhile, in essence, copyright protection aims to protect the creativity of the human mind (spiritual value), while trademark protection aims to protect the health of the business, so in terms of nature, trademark protection will be broader and have stronger binding and recognition.
3. Advantages and disadvantages of trademark protection and copyright protection for logos
About advantages:
- Considered the strictest logo protection mechanism today, trademarks have the widest scope of protection when protecting both the text and image content of the mark, avoiding logo copying that confuses. A trademark protection certificate is also a document certifying that a business and product are registered for protection with the State, also creating trust and reputation for consumers; This is also the basis for handling other intellectual property violations such as trade names, domain names, and websites. If a business needs to provide branded products to the domestic and international markets, an exclusive trademark protection document is a mandatory condition to deploy the barcode system.
- For registration of the copyright owner of the logo, the nature of copyright to the work arises from the creation of the work, so the registration of protection will be based on the willingness and honesty of the author. The owner or the owner should make the process of issuing a Certificate easier. Besides, compared to trademark protection, copyright protection has a faster time to issue Certificates and does not have to go through a rigorous appraisal process. The protection period is long. For logo works, the protection period is 75 years from the time the work is first published and at the end of the above period, the work belongs to the public, organizations, and individuals with rights responsibility, and obligation to respect the author’s rights.
About disadvantages:
- For logo trademark protection, because of the strict protection mechanism, to be granted a Trademark Registration Certificate, it is necessary to go through a complicated appraisal process. The National Office of Intellectual Property evaluates the form of the registration application, publishes the registration application in the Industrial Property Official Gazette, and then appraises the trademark content before deciding to refuse to grant a Protection Title or decision to issue a Certificate. Furthermore, the processing time can be up to 2-3 years due to the rigorous inspection process, the number of registration applications is increasing, and the trademark protection period is also relatively short (10 years) since the date of application submission and the 10 years that can be extended are also some disadvantages of this protection.
- Regarding copyright protection for logos, there is currently no system to manage and look up duplicates of logos, especially in cases where the logo has not been published, so the registration is to recognize the copyright of the logo. author, owner. In addition, if a third party proves that the copyright owner’s registered logo is copied, the result can be canceled and if a dispute occurs, it must go through court procedures. When registering the copyright owner of a logo, that logo will be recorded from the perspective of an applied work of art, not subject to exclusive protection, so if a third party uses duplicate content. but with a different layout and color scheme, it can be considered a different work.
In summary, the above two protection methods are both very important and necessary for authors and owners, and are useful tools when disputes arise. However, each protection method has its advantages and disadvantages, requiring each individual who owns intellectual property to be equipped with certain knowledge to be able to choose a form of protection. Fit.
Above is the article: “Comparing trademark protection and copyright owner protection for Logos”. Hope this article will help you.
