Generally, logos and designs that are used as brand identities for representing businesses are protected as trademarks. As they are original artistic works that have an element of creativity, they are also protected as copyrights. Trademarks and copyrights are two different forms of intellectual properties and are protected by different laws; and the scope of protection under different laws is different too.

A copyright is a cluster of several rights granted to the owners of specific creative works. In a nutshell, a copyright could be explained as an exclusive legal right to do or authorize another person to use, reproduce and distribute copies of and / or make adaptations or translations of and / or perform or communicate in public certain kinds of creative works.

A trademark is a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from that of another when used in trade.

Only certain kinds of creative works are capable of copyright protection, artistic works (including brand logos or designs) being one such kind. If a brand logo has an element of creativity and is original, it will also attract copyright protection in addition to trademark protection.

the main requirement for a brand logo to be protected under the trademark law is that it should be distinctive and capable of representing a trade in commerce; whereas copyright law, on the other hand, requires that a logo is an original piece of art and has a creative element attached to it.

a trademark is described as any device, heading, design, label, word, name, signature, etc., which is capable of a graphical representation and which should be capable of distinguishing goods and / or services of one party from those of the other.

2) you can apply for trademark protection of the cartoon characters

3) Obtaining statutory trademark protection is beneficial in bringing rightful claims of trademark infringement against misuse.

4) Cartoon characters can be protected forms of intellectual property under both copyright and trademark law. Copyright subsists in a literary and artistic work published within the lifetime of the author until 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies (S. 22 of the Copyright Act, 1957

5) For cartoon characters, courts consider not only the visual resemblance but also narrative aspects of a character, such as their personalities, behaviors, biographies, and story lines

1) you can go in for copyright protection

2) The rights provided under Copyright law include the rights of reproduction of the work, communication of the work to the public, adaptation of the work and translation of the work.[

3) it confers on authors the absolute ownership of their creations

4) you should copy right all the characters

Hi

Since you are an animation based company having created Cartoon characters, you should apply for copy right for protection to ensure that your cartoon characters are not reproduced with out your permission in literary, dramatic, musical, cinematography etc and that you are protected till such time the copyright exists.

However since you are also planning for merchandise, you should also get your work protected under trade mark act also . Registration under trademark protects a name, word, slogan, symbol, design, and/or image identifying a business or brand and distinguishing it from others in the same field.

Also that registering a trademark enhances the rights of a person by providing legal evidence and public notice of ownership. It is proof enough of a nationwide exclusive right to the mark and allows the holder to sue an infringer if the case calls for it. Registered trademarks can use the ® symbol. Though a trademark is valid for an unlimited period of time, it must be renewed every 10 years.

Some additional differences between a copyright and a trademark are as follows:

1. The purpose of a copyright is to protect works of authorship as fixed in a tangible form of expression. Thus, copyright covers: a) works of art (2 or 3 dimensional), b) photos, pictures, graphic designs, drawings and other forms of images; c) songs, music and sound recordings of all kinds; d) books, manuscripts, publications and other written works; and e) plays, movies, shows, and other performance arts.

2. The purpose of a trademark is to protect words, phrases and logos used in federally regulated commerce to identify the source of goods and/or services.

3. There may be occasions when both copyright and trademark protection are desired with respect to the same business endeavor. For example, a marketing campaign for a new product may introduce a new slogan for use with the product, which also appears in advertisements for the product. However, copyright and trademark protection will cover different things. The advertisement’s text and graphics, as published in a particular vehicle, will be covered by copyright – but this will not protect the slogan as such. The slogan may be protected by trademark law, but this will not cover the rest of the advertisement. If you want both forms of protection, you will have to perform both types of registration.

4. If you are interested in protecting a title, slogan, or other short word phrase, generally you want a trademark. Copyright law does not protect a bare phrase, slogan, or trade name.

5. Whether an image should be protected by trademark or copyright law depends on whether its use is intended to identify the source of goods or services. If an image is used temporarily in an ad campaign, it generally is not the type of thing intended to be protected as a logo.

6. The registration processes of copyright and trademark are entirely different. For copyright, the filing fee is small, the time to obtain registration is relatively short, and examination by the Copyright Office is limited to ensuring that the registration application is properly completed and suitable copies are attached. For trademark, the filing fee is more substantial, the time to obtain registration is much longer, and examination by the Trademark Office includes a substantive review of potentially conflicting marks which are found to be confusingly similar. While copyright registration is primarily an administrative process, trademark registration is very much an adversarial process.

7. Copyright law provides for compulsory licensing and royalty payments – there is no analogous concept in trademark law. Plus, the tests and definition of infringement are considerably different under copyright law and trademark law.

Hope this information is useful.

The terms patent, copyright, and trademark are all used in the context of intellectual property. Although intellectual property or intellectual ideas are created in the human mind, intellectual property does not refer to the ideas. It is how the idea materialises itself and the end result that is protected with a patent, a copyright, or a trademark. The design of a fuel-efficient car maybe patented but not the idea. The story or the manuscript of a book is copyrighted and not the idea of the book itself. When you start a new company, the logo is trademarked and not the idea of creating a logo.

Business and product owners file for a trademark. It protects a name, word, slogan, symbol, design, and/or image identifying a business or brand and distinguishing it from others in the same field.

While an idea cannot be copyrighted, the tangible form of an idea can be. This includes original works of authorship, photographs, sculptures, choreography, architectural works, sound recordings, motion pictures, and other creative works.

The difference between trade mark and copy rights have been given in the above lines, now you chose whether or intellectual property comes under trade mark protection or copy rights protection.