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What is a combined trademark?

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

A combined trademark (also called a semi-figurative mark) is a mark that includes both a textual element and a graphical element registered together as a single mark. The McDonald's golden arches paired with the word "McDonald's" is a typical example.

A combined mark is registered as a figurative trademark by most IP offices, since it contains a visual component. It protects the brand name and logo in combined use, but it does not separately protect the name as a wordmark or the logo as a standalone figurative mark. For more comprehensive protection, businesses should register the name as a wordmark, the logo as a figurative mark, and the two together as a combined mark.

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