Has any one copyrighted and/or trademarked the name of their company and logo? Is it really necessary?

I sent off to have my logo copyrighted and received a rejection letter and they did not refund my fee. That fee was only $35. I was just wondering if it is absolutely necessary to do so. The trademarking fee is over $300.

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Sonya Kensey,
The Virtual Experience by SDK

I haven't decided if I'll register a copyright or a trademark yet. I don't think it's something that you need to be worried about right now, but it would be good to think about it down the road. At least that's what I think.

I seem to remember that simply being the first person/entity to create/use a certain business name or tagline automatically gives you the copyright and trademark. I know you can use the copyright (C) and trademark (TM) symbols without registering. If you register a trademark you are allowed to use the registered trademark symbol (R).

I believe the main benefit of registering a copyright or trademark is because it's easier to defend them in court.

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Katie B.
Helping Hands VA- Coming Soon!

For my part, I haven't copyrighted or trademarked the name of my company as it is in the beginning stage.

You can have 2 points of view on the matter:

1. Trademark - According to wikipedia's definition (relatively accurate on this one) A trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.

It would be beneficial to you because when the clients see your company logo they will instantly know that it is yours. And if this logo is copied or somewhat similar to other companies, you have a right to sue them for infringing on your IPR. As what Katie said earlier, it would be easier to prove your claim before the court(s).

If you do not wish to register your company logo as a trademark, you can use the symbol ™.

Copyright, on the other hand, are exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Mostly refer to creations which is in the literary form.

2. If you opt not to protect your company logo under Trademark, that can also be done but you will be having a challenging time proving your claims in court. Especially if the other party alleges that s/he has priority since s/he used the same prior to your use of such logo.

Hope this helps. If I wasn't clear on any points, please point it out to me.

Thanks