Should my company trademark its name or its logo?

First, let's answer a more basic question: "What is a trademark?" A trademark is most commonly a word, name, phrase, symbol, logo or design, which distinguishes a business or its product/service offerings from other similar businesses or offerings. A trademark need not be registered, but use of an unregistered trademark may provide only limited protection to you in a local region.

So, should you trademark (or, more properly, should you register) your company name and logo?

Trademark registration does offer benefits. Registering your trademarks protects your intellectual property and prevents competitors from using your name or logo. A company name and logo are valuable assets, especially as public or industry recognition of your trademarks grow. By registering your trademarks, you establish the presumption of legal ownership and the exclusive right to use them, with some caveats to be discussed later.

You should consider registering your trademark at the state level and at the federal level with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov). Note that even if your logo contains your company name, use of the name alone will not be protected unless you file for a second registration for that specific usage. Before registering, it's advisable to do a trademark search to discover if anyone else has already claimed the trademark you intend to use. Once you pay your registration fees, they will not be refunded, even if a conflict is found and your mark therefore cannot be registered.
 
A federal trademark search should include a search of all pending, registered and dead federal trademarks. Additionally, you may wish to conduct a common law trademark search. Such a search includes marks that are in use, but not necessarily registered. Why should you care about unregistered trademarks? Because whoever uses a mark first has a superior right to it. For an unregistered trademark, that right is limited, however, to the geographic location where business is done, where it is likely to expand and to any areas where reputation is established.

Common law is an important aspect of acquiring rights in a trademark: Rights may be acquired by actual "first use" in the marketplace. You may decide that a common law trademark is all you require. Do bear in mind that another company could subsequently register with the USPTO and obtain the rights to use your same trademarks in every other location, however.

The registration of trademarks is an important consideration for existing companies interested in protecting the reputation and recognition they've worked to acquire, as well as for new businesses. If you are forming a business and selecting your name, be sure to research existing registered trademarks already in use in your line of business not only to avoid confusion, but also to avoid legal action by a trademark holder.