Should I File My Business Name, Logo, or Both?

When the budget supports only one filing, the standard-character name is often the first priority because the registration isn't limited to one font or logo design. A separate logo filing makes sense when the visual element has independent brand value or the wording alone is weak.

Word marks vs. design marks

The USPTO recognizes different formats for what you can register. A standard-character (word) mark protects the wording itself. A design mark (sometimes called a stylized or logo mark) protects a specific visual presentation, a particular logo design, color arrangement, or lettering style. You can file either on its own, or file a mark that combines wording and design elements together as one unit. A standard-character registration is not limited to a particular font, size, color, or stylization, although the practical scope of rights still depends on the mark, the goods or services, and the marketplace context, it's a broad format, not an unlimited one.

A decision framework

• Customers say or search the name → prioritize the word mark.
• A symbol or icon is used independently of the wording → consider a separate design filing.
• The logo is still changing or unsettled → delay the design filing until it stabilizes.
• The wording is descriptive or otherwise weak, but the stylization is distinctive → evaluate a composite (combined) mark.
• Budget supports both, and both are stable → separate applications may provide broader, complementary coverage.

For most founders and small businesses, the name is also the thing competitors are most likely to copy or come close to, and it's usually the element customers search for, say out loud, and type into a browser. That combination is why the word mark is typically the stronger first move when only one filing is affordable right now.

Three situations come up often enough to spell out directly. A business with a stable name but a logo that keeps evolving should generally file the word mark first and let the logo settle before spending on a design application. A business built around a distinctive icon used on its own, an app tile, a social avatar, a hang tag, independent of the full name, is a reasonable candidate for a separate design filing alongside the word mark. And when the budget only supports one filing, prioritize whichever asset, the name or the logo, carries the strongest and most consistent source-identifying value in front of actual customers.

When the logo deserves its own filing

A separate design mark filing makes more sense in specific situations: the logo itself is highly distinctive and recognizable independent of the wording, such as a symbol or mascot customers associate with the brand even without reading the name; the business name is largely descriptive or otherwise weak on its own, and the stylization is what makes the overall mark distinctive enough to register; or there's a standalone graphic, an icon, a monogram, a character, used independently of the full name, such as on an app icon or a social media avatar. In those cases, a design mark can capture protection a plain word mark would miss.

Filing both: cost and sequencing

Filing the word mark and the logo as separate applications gives the broadest combined protection, but it means two applications, two attorney fees, and two USPTO filing fees per class. Two marks in the same class, such as a word mark and a logo, carry a flat $1,200 attorney fee at The Branding Iron, plus the separate USPTO fee (from $350 per class) for each application. Because of the added cost, many businesses sequence it: file the word mark first to secure the name, then evaluate a separate logo filing once the visual identity has stabilized and the budget allows.

A note on combined logo-plus-name marks

Some applicants file a single application showing the name and logo together as one composite design. This can work, but registering the combination as one unit generally protects that specific combined presentation, not necessarily the name by itself in a different font, or the logo by itself without the wording. Whether a combined filing, two separate filings, or one filing now and one later fits best depends on the specific mark and business, and it's a question worth working through with an attorney before filing anything rather than sorting out afterward.

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This article is general information, not legal advice, and results cannot be guaranteed; pricing is subject to the written engagement agreement. Last reviewed July 2026. Sources: USPTO, Apply to register a trademark (standard-character and design-mark filing formats); USPTO, Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure.