Trademark and logo are similar in their purpose - they are both used to identify goods or services so that the consumer can distinguish them from analogues. However, a logo is a graphic image and can be represented in the form of symbols, letters, numbers, or a combination of these. The logo may include the name of a company, brand, product or service. A logo without a graphic image does not exist. In practice, it can be part of a trademark, and the logo itself is not registered with Rospatent if the owner does not plan to use it as a trademark. It is protected by copyright and serves to identify the business. A trademark, as a means of individualizing goods and services, is registered with Rospatent and serves to protect business.
If logo is registered by its owner as a trademark, but an unscrupulous competitor is trying to use it, then it is much easier for the copyright holder to defend his position, since he can dispose of the designation at his own discretion, use it in the ways he needs and at the same time prohibit use by third parties in accordance with Art. 1484 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (“No one has the right to use, without the permission of the copyright holder, designations similar to his trademark in relation to goods for the individualization of which the trademark is registered, or homogeneous goods, if as a result of such use there is a likelihood of confusion”).
In such cases, the trademark owner can send a letter of claim to the violator and try to resolve the conflict before the court, and if the infringer’s claim is ignored, file a claim with the court demanding to stop the illegal use of the trademark and pay compensation.
However, before filing a lawsuit, it is necessary to collect evidence of violation. For example, it is necessary to draw up a notarized protocol for a website inspection confirming a violation if the trademark of its copyright holder was illegally placed on a competitor’s website, under which goods or services were offered in the Russian Federation.
It is also necessary to find out information about the domain name administrator from the domain name registrar through a lawyer's request, which is important for determining the defendant in a lawsuit and providing documentary evidence.
A more complex situation arises when logo is not registered by its owner as a trademark. In this case, you can bring a claim based on arguments about unfair competition on the part of a third party using your logo, misleading the consumer, as well as violation of copyright in the logo as a result of creative work.
In this case, you can urgently submit an application for its registration as a trademark, and if there is an urgent need to urgently obtain a certificate, then the application can be submitted under an accelerated procedure, which is 2 months (the standard period for registering a trademark is usually 8 -12 months). Despite the fact that the agency’s tariffs for expediting the examination are quite high, they are still justified, since sometimes the damage from the actions of competitors is much higher.
At the same time as filing the application, it is necessary to check whether a competitor has filed an application to register the logo as a trademark in its name. If they have not yet submitted an application, then the chance of successfully registering the designation is quite high.
But in the case when competitors have already filed an application to register the logo as a mark, then you can file an objection in which you must indicate a violation of your copyright in the mark, as well as misleading the consumer, since the developed and continuously used logo is associated with the goods or services of your company, and not with a competitor. An additional argument against registration will be the coincidence of the brand name of a competitor’s company, which is used in your logo.
The situation becomes more complicated when a competitor has already registered the logo you created as a trademark in their name. However, even in this case, you can file an objection and demand its cancellation. If there is a positive decision in favor of the bona fide owner of the trademark (its developer) in the Chamber of Patent Disputes, you can apply for its registration, and if a refusal to cancel the competitor’s designation is received, you can file a lawsuit to review this decision, providing all the necessary evidence.
That is, if competitors illegally use your logo on their website to conduct commercial activities, it can be protected. However, the situation will be simplified if the logo is registered in the name of the owner as a trademark. Therefore, it is important to promptly check and register the created symbols, pictures and combined logos that are planned to be used in business even before their use in the market of goods or services.
In the event that time is lost and the trademark is not registered, it is possible and necessary to defend your rights. However, this process requires deep knowledge of office work in Rospatent and in the courts, the collection of significant evidence and the preparation of complex legal documents, and therefore the involvement of specialized specialists.
