You commissioned a logo, paid the invoice, and started using it everywhere. So you own it, right? Not necessarily. UK intellectual property law treats your logo as two separate things: a copyright work (the artwork itself) and a potential registered trade mark (a brand sign you can register and police). They are owned in different ways, protect different things, and one of them — copyright — quietly stays with your designer by default unless you get the paperwork right. Here’s how it actually works, and how to make sure your business owns its own logo.
Quick answer
Copyright in a logo arises automatically the moment it’s created, but it belongs to the person who designed it (an external designer or freelancer), not the business that paid for it, unless they sign a written copyright assignment to you. A registered trade mark is separate: you apply to the UK Intellectual Property Office, choose the classes that cover your goods or services (around £170 for one class, plus £50 for each extra), and once registered it lasts ten years and is renewable indefinitely. To truly own your logo, get the written IP assignment from your designer and consider registering the mark.
Copyright vs trade mark: the key difference
People use “copyright” and “trademark” as if they mean the same thing. In UK law they are two different rights doing two different jobs.
- Copyright protects the original artwork: the specific drawing, the typography treatment, the icon. It arises automatically as soon as the work is created and fixed; there’s no register and no fee in the UK. It protects against someone copying that exact creative work.
- A registered trade mark protects a brand sign (typically your name and logo) as an identifier of your goods or services. It’s a right you actively apply and pay for, and it lets you stop competitors using a confusingly similar mark in your sector, even if they didn’t literally copy your artwork.
In short: copyright stops copying of the design; a trade mark stops confusing use of the brand. Most established businesses want both, because they cover different risks.
Who owns your logo by default (the assignment trap)
This is where businesses get caught out. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the general rule is that the creator (the author) is the first owner of copyright. There’s a narrow exception: if an employee creates the work in the course of their employment, copyright usually belongs to the employer.
The catch is that most logos are made by external designers, freelancers or agencies, not employees. So even though you paid for the work, the copyright in the artwork sits with them by default. Paying for a logo gives you (at most) an implied licence to use it for the purpose you commissioned it; it does not automatically transfer ownership. That can become a real problem if you later want to register a trade mark, modify the design, license it, or sell the business and the buyer’s lawyers ask, quite reasonably, to see proof that you own your own brand.
How to get a proper IP assignment from a designer or freelancer
The fix is straightforward, and you should sort it at the point of commissioning rather than years later. To transfer copyright in the UK you need a written assignment signed by the person assigning it (the designer). A verbal promise or a line on an invoice is not enough.
A good written assignment should:
- Identify the work clearly: the logo and any associated artwork, source files and variations.
- Assign all rights to your business outright, for the full term of copyright, worldwide.
- Cover a waiver of moral rights, so the designer can’t object to you adapting the logo later.
- Confirm the work is original and doesn’t knowingly infringe anyone else’s rights.
The simplest approach is to choose a provider who includes full copyright transfer as standard in writing. When we design a mark, full ownership is part of the deliverable. See our logo design service, so you’re never left chasing paperwork. It’s also worth checking exactly what’s included when you compare quotes; our UK logo cost guide explains why ownership and source files should never be optional extras.
Registering a UK trade mark (IPO, classes, cost, ™ vs ®)
Owning the copyright protects the artwork. Registering a trade mark protects the brand. You apply through the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the official government body. The core decisions are which mark to register (your name, your logo, or both) and which classes to register it in. There are 45 classes under the international (Nice) classification, covering different categories of goods and services, and your registration only protects you within the classes you choose, so pick the ones that match what you actually sell.
Indicative IPO fees for a standard online application:
| Item | Indicative cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application: first class | Around £170 | Standard online application covering one class |
| Each additional class | £50 per class | Add the classes that match your goods/services |
| Registration term | 10 years | From the filing date, once granted |
| Renewal | Payable every 10 years | Renewable indefinitely |
On the symbols: the ™ symbol can be used by anyone to signal that you treat something as your trade mark. It carries no legal status and needs no registration. The ® symbol may only be used once your mark is actually registered, and using ® on an unregistered mark is an offence. So ™ says “we claim this”; ® says “this is officially registered”.
How long protection lasts and renewals
The two rights run on very different clocks.
- Copyright lasts a long time and needs no renewal: for an artistic work it generally runs for the life of the creator plus 70 years. Once you hold a valid assignment, you don’t need to do anything to keep it.
- A registered trade mark lasts ten years from the filing date and can be renewed every ten years, indefinitely, for as long as you pay the renewal fee. There’s no upper limit, which is why some brands have held registered marks for over a century. Miss a renewal and the registration can lapse, so it’s worth diarising.
Avoiding infringing someone else’s mark
Ownership runs both ways: just as you don’t want others copying your logo, you don’t want to unwittingly adopt one that’s already taken. Before you commit to a new mark, it’s sensible to:
- Search the IPO trade mark register for identical or similar marks in your classes; the IPO offers a free online search.
- Run a wider check (company names, domain names and a plain web search) to spot established brands even where there’s no registration.
- Be cautious with lookalikes: a logo doesn’t have to be identical to infringe; it only needs to be confusingly similar in a related sector.
- Brief your designer to create something genuinely original rather than reworking a competitor’s mark.
Getting this wrong is expensive: you can be forced to rebrand, recall printed materials and, in some cases, pay damages. A short check at the design stage is far cheaper than a forced rebrand later, a point we make in our small-business logo guide.
What to do next
If you already have a logo, start by checking you actually own the copyright: dig out a signed written assignment, and if there isn’t one, ask your designer for it now. If you commissioned the work from a freelancer or agency without paperwork, that’s the first gap to close. Next, decide whether your brand is worth registering as a trade mark; for most growing UK businesses trading under a distinctive name and mark, it is. Then search the IPO register, choose your classes and file. If you’re commissioning a fresh logo, choose a provider that bundles full copyright transfer and source files as standard, so ownership is sorted on day one rather than years down the line.
This article is general guidance, not formal legal advice. For your specific situation — particularly trade mark strategy or a dispute — consult a qualified IP solicitor or trade mark attorney.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I own the copyright in a logo I paid a designer to create? +
Not automatically. Under UK law the designer, as creator, is the first owner of copyright unless they're your employee. Paying for the work gives you a licence to use it; you only own the copyright once they sign a written assignment to you.
What's the difference between logo copyright and a trade mark in the UK? +
Copyright is automatic and protects the original artwork from being copied. A registered trade mark is applied for through the UK IPO and protects your brand name and logo as an identifier of your goods or services within chosen classes.
How much does it cost to register a UK trade mark? +
An online application through the UK IPO costs around £170 for the first class of goods or services, plus £50 for each additional class. You choose classes that match what you sell, so the total depends on how many you need.
How long does UK trade mark protection last? +
A registered UK trade mark lasts ten years from the filing date and can be renewed every ten years indefinitely, for as long as the renewal fee is paid. Copyright in the logo artwork runs separately, generally for the creator's life plus 70 years.
