Protecting a Logo in Canada: Trademark, Copyright, and What Your Ontario Business Needs to Know

Your logo is often the most visible face of your business. Before you launch it — or as soon as possible after — you need to understand how Canadian law protects (and fails to protect) logos, who owns the artwork, and what steps actually give you enforceable rights.

The good news: two distinct bodies of law work together to protect a logo. Copyright protects the artwork itself. Trademark protects your exclusive right to use the logo as a brand identifier for your goods or services. Understanding the difference between them is essential for protecting your logo the right way.

Copyright Protection for a Logo

What Copyright Protects

Canada's Copyright Act protects original artistic works, including logos that have sufficient creativity to qualify as original. Copyright arises automatically the moment a qualifying work is created — no registration is required. If your designer creates a unique logo for your business, copyright exists in that logo from the moment it is fixed (drawn, saved digitally, etc.).

Copyright in a logo typically gives the owner the right to:

• Reproduce the logo (make copies).
• Distribute it.
• Display it publicly.
• Prevent others from copying it without permission.

As of writing, copyright in a work generally lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, though you should verify the current term under the Copyright Act.

The Critical Question: Who Owns the Copyright?

Here is where many small businesses are caught off guard.

If your designer is a freelancer (independent contractor), the default rule under the Copyright Act is that the designer owns the copyright, not you — even though you paid for the work. You may have an implied licence to use the logo, but you do not own it unless the ownership was expressly transferred to you in writing.

If your designer is your employee and created the logo in the course of employment, your business generally owns the copyright under the Copyright Act's employment exception.

The fix is simple but essential: any contract with a freelance designer should include an explicit copyright assignment clause — a written statement that all IP in the work created for you is assigned to your business. Without it, your designer could legally prevent you from modifying the logo or claim compensation if you want to use it in new ways.

Trademark Protection for a Logo

Why Trademark is Different

Copyright protects the artwork as an artistic creation. Trademark protects the logo as a brand identifier — a signal to consumers that goods or services come from your business. These are different legal tools with different purposes, and for a business logo, you often want both.

A registered trademark for your logo gives you:

• The exclusive right to use that logo (or a confusingly similar design) in association with your specific goods or services — across all of Canada.
• The right to use the ® symbol.
• A presumption of ownership and validity.
• The ability to record the trademark at the Canada Border Services Agency to stop counterfeit goods.
• A named asset on your company's balance sheet — valuable in a sale or licensing arrangement.

Registering a Logo as a Design Mark

At CIPO, a logo trademark is called a design mark (as opposed to a word mark, which is text-only). Your application must include:

• A clear black-and-white image of the logo design.
• If colour is claimed, a colour image and a description of the colours.
• The goods and services for which you claim the mark.

Important: CIPO does not register marks that are primarily a person's name, purely descriptive terms, or designs that are confusingly similar to existing marks. Run a design clearance search before applying — searching both text elements of the logo and visual similarities.

Word Mark vs. Design Mark: Which to File First?

Many businesses file both a word mark (the business name in plain text) and a design mark (the logo). The word mark is generally more powerful because it protects the name in any style or font. The design mark protects the specific look of your logo.

If budget requires prioritizing, most trademark practitioners recommend filing the word mark first, since it provides broader protection. File the design mark when you have a stable, final version of the logo you don't plan to redesign soon.

What Registration Does Not Do

Neither copyright nor trademark registration:

• Prevents someone from drawing a completely different logo that happens to perform the same function.
• Protects you outside Canada (you need separate filings in other jurisdictions).
• Guarantees no one will ever infringe — enforcement remains your responsibility.

Copyright, in particular, is an automatic right but not a self-enforcing one. If someone copies your logo, you must take action — sending a cease-and-desist or pursuing a court claim.

Practical Checklist for Logo Protection

1. Get a copyright assignment in your designer contract before the logo is even created. This is cheap insurance.
2. Run a design trademark search at CIPO and on the internet for visually similar logos in your industry.
3. File a trademark application at CIPO for both the word mark and the logo (design mark) — ideally before you publicly launch the brand.
4. Keep your registration current — renew the trademark every 10 years.
5. Record use — maintain dated records of how you use the logo in commerce in case you ever need to defend your rights.

Frequently asked questions