# What Happens to Your Trademark Registration If Your Logo Changes? > A logo change does not void your registration, but it protects the old logo and the new one is unprotected. Three scenarios, the old mark, copyright, transition. - Canonical: https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/logo-change-and-trademark-registration - Language: en - Last updated: 2026-10-23 - Publisher: Webx Marka Patent ve Fikri Sınai Haklar Danışmanlık A.Ş. (https://www.webx.net.tr/) _Machine-readable copy of the page above. The canonical HTML page is authoritative; fees and regulations may change — check the last-updated date._ --- Changing your logo **does not bring down** your existing trademark registration; the registration lives on in the form recorded in the register. A logo change does have a less comfortable side for your trademark registration, though: **your registration protects the old logo; the new logo in your shop window is unregistered unless a separate application is filed.** So the question really splits in two: what happens to the old registration, and how will the new logo be protected? The first thing we usually get asked when a logo is redesigned is how to notify the Office of the change. There is no such procedure, because the representation of a trademark cannot be changed in the register. Identity-preserving minor retouches are carried by the existing registration, while a significant redesign needs a **new application**. If your word mark is registered separately, your core protection is not affected by the logo change at all. Why renewal is not a tool for change, and where the distinctive character threshold lies, is the subject of [If You Change Your Trademark, Does the Registration Need Renewing?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/does-a-modified-trademark-need-a-new-registration) This page stays with the details specific to logos. ## What Does the Extent of the Change Decide? ### Retouch: Same Identity, Refreshed Look The typeface has become lighter, the corners have been softened, the tone has been updated; everyone who looks at the brand sees the same brand. Because the distinctive character has been preserved, this use is deemed by law to be use of the registered trademark. The existing registration keeps both its validity and its strength under the use requirement. A new application is not mandatory, though it may still be worth considering if protecting the visual identity from imitation matters a lot. ### Transformation: Same Word, New Visual World The brand name is still there, but the figure, emblem or composition has been redrawn from scratch. Here the picture splits in two. If your word element is registered as [an independent word mark](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-registration-without-a-logo), your core protection is not shaken; what needs to be done is to apply for the new visual version and decide the fate of the registration with the old logo. If everything depends on a single registration with a logo, the risk grows: the representation in the register and the brand in the shop window have diverged, and a new application becomes urgent. ### Full Rebrand: Both Logo and Name Have Changed This is no longer a logo change but a new trademark. The [full rebrand regime](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/does-a-modified-trademark-need-a-new-registration) applies, with its search, its application and its transition plan. Side by side, the three cases look like this: | Extent of the change | Existing registration | New application | | --- | --- | --- | | Retouch (font, tone, proportions) | Remains valid and strong | Not mandatory; recommended if the visual identity is critical | | Same word, visual redone from scratch | If there is a word mark registration, the core is protected; the registration with the logo becomes outdated | Required for the new version with the logo | | Logo + name changed | Does not protect the new trademark | Essential — full rebrand regime | ## What Happens to the Registration With the Old Logo? The old registration does not go anywhere of its own accord. Its fate is your decision, and three things shape it. Start with whether use builds a bridge to the old registration. If the distinctive character of the trademark is carried by the word, use with the new logo can also keep the old registration alive for the purposes of the use requirement. If the trademark is predominantly visual, that bridge cannot be built and the old registration becomes dormant in practice. The assessment depends on the facts of the case; for how the five-year period runs, see our article on [the five-year rule](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-use-requirement-and-the-five-year-rule). The transition timetable matters as well: until packaging, signage and stock bearing the old logo have left the market, the old registration keeps doing a protective job. It is also part of your arsenal for opposing similar applications. Make the decision to let it go deliberately, and time it for the next renewal date. ## Registering the New Logo: Three Steps 1. **Search.** The new figure and composition may resemble other people's figurative marks. A clear word does not mean a clear visual. A [similarity search](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-do-a-trademark-search) is the first step in a logo change as well. 2. **Apply before the launch.** An application filed after the new logo has been made public leaves an unprotected interim period and a risk of opportunistic applications. 3. **Update the scope.** A new application is an opportunity to rebuild the list of classes around current and planned activities; do not copy the old list without thinking. ## The Overlooked Layer: Copyright in the Logo A logo is not only a trademark representation but also **a design subject to copyright protection**, and this layer operates independently of trademark registration. If a **written assignment of the economic rights** has not been obtained from the agency or freelance designer who drew the new logo, you may face copyright claims even over a logo recorded in your name in the trademark register: in a relationship without a contract, the designer may object to the use of the logo in other media or open a dispute over an assignment fee. The safeguard is not expensive: include assignment clauses in the design agreement, and document the rights position if a logo competition or a ready-made template was used. Registration and copyright are two separate files, and both need securing. ## Knock-On Effects Beyond the Register: Contracts and Platforms The paperwork for a logo change does not end at TÜRKPATENT. - In a licence or franchise network, update the brand usage guidelines annexed to the agreements for the new visual and send the transition timetable to everyone in the network. A transition without guidelines produces mixed use across the network that lasts for years. - Registrations tied to the brand's visuals, such as marketplace brand programmes and verified accounts, are updated through their own processes. A registration certificate for the new logo is what those requests rest on. - Refresh the images in the customs recordals you use against counterfeiting; a customs officer holding the old logo will not recognise your new product. ## The Strategy That Makes Logo Refreshes Cheaper Brands that refresh their logos at regular intervals split the portfolio into layers: **the word mark as a fixed core**, the registration with the logo as an updatable shell. At each refresh, an application is filed only for the shell; the core protection and its seniority are never shaken. For brands that rely on a single registration with a logo, every design change is a full registration operation. If you are in the middle of a logo change today, now is the moment to set up that split. You will be filing a new application anyway. ## Transition Plan: From Launch to Phase-Out Sequence is what turns a logo transition from a crisis into a routine. In a rough timetable: - **Before the launch:** The similarity search is completed, the application for the new logo is filed and the copyright assignment is signed with the designer. The new visual is not shared on any channel until these three are done; even a "coming soon" teaser on social media is an early leak. - **Launch week:** The website, social media accounts and digital materials switch over in one go; updated brand usage guidelines and the transition timetable are sent to the licence/franchise network. - **The first months:** The visuals in marketplace brand registrations and customs recordals are updated; physical materials (signage, packaging, vehicle wraps) are renewed region by region; the sell-off period for stock bearing the old logo is fixed. - **End of the transition:** A last-use date for the old logo is announced and removal of old materials from the network is confirmed; the fate of the registration with the old logo (keep/let go) is decided for the next renewal date, and [monitoring](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-watch-and-bulletin-monitoring) is updated to cover both signs. The length of the timetable varies by sector: a few weeks for digital products, more than a year for physical networks with dealers. The length itself matters less than making sure that at no stage is anyone unsure which logo is the "official" one. ## Four Traps That Come With a New Logo 1. Spreading the new logo before registering it. With the old logo still in the register, the registration you hold against an imitator describes the brand you have left behind, not the one you use. 2. Letting the old registration go in launch week. Removing the protection while stock and memories are still full of the old logo opens up the field to competitors. 3. Shaking hands with the designer instead of signing a contract. Until the copyright layer is documented, the logo is not "yours", whatever the register says. 4. Not telling the network. Dealers and licensees carry on printing with the old logo, and two looks on the market leave consumers with one question: "Are these the same company?" ## Your Next Logo Change Gets Cheaper Now A logo change does not kill your registration, but left unmanaged it quietly makes your protection obsolete. For brands that register the word and the visual separately, the process is routine maintenance; for those squeezed into a single registration, it is a small crisis every time. If you still rely on a single registration with a logo, the cheapest time to fix that is now, while you are about to file a new application anyway. If you send your existing registrations and the new design via the [contact page](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/iletisim), we can tell you how the change sits with your current protection. We can then plan the search and application for the new logo around your launch date and settle the fate of the old registration as part of your portfolio. ## Sources - [Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (Türkiye)](https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=6769&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5) (mevzuat.gov.tr) — Art. 4: signs that may constitute a trademark; Art. 9: use of the trademark ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Will my trademark registration be cancelled if the logo changes? No. A logo change does not in itself cancel the existing registration; the registration lives on with the representation recorded in the register. The real issue is the reverse: your registration protects the old logo, while the new logo you use on the market is unregistered unless a separate application is filed. If the old logo is no longer used and the new one alters the distinctive character, the old registration may become open to revocation for non-use after five years (Article 9 of the Industrial Property Code). ### Does my existing registration also protect my new logo? To a limited extent. Protection is assessed on the basis of the representation in the register, and in a dispute with an imitator the comparison is made against that representation; the closer the new logo is to it, the stronger the indirect protection. Use that does not alter the distinctive character counts as use of the registered trademark (Article 9(2)(a) of the Industrial Property Code), but this rule does not extend protection to the new look; after a thorough redesign, the new logo needs a registration of its own. ### If I only change the colour of the logo, do I need a new application? Usually not. An identity-preserving tonal update can be carried by the existing registration, because using the trademark with different elements without altering its distinctive character counts as use of the registered trademark (Article 9(2)(a) of the Industrial Property Code). Where the colour has become the very identity of the brand, as with brands recognised by their colour, the assessment becomes more delicate and registering the new version should be considered. A new application is also worth considering if protecting the visual identity from imitation matters. ### Do I need to notify TÜRKPATENT of the logo change? No, there is no procedure for notifying TÜRKPATENT, Turkey's patent and trademark office, of a logo change. What can be updated in the register is the proprietor's details; correction requests that change the representation of the trademark are not accepted (Article 21(2) of the Implementing Regulation), so no entry saying "my logo has changed" is made either. If the new logo is to be protected, there is only one route: a new application to register the version with the new logo. ### When should I file the application for the new logo? Before the launch. An application filed after the new logo has been made public leaves an interim period unprotected against opportunistic applications and imitation. The correct order is similarity search, application, launch; the copyright assignment with the designer should also be signed before the launch. The new visual should not be shared on any channel until these steps are done; even a "coming soon" teaser on social media is an early leak. ### Should I have the registration with the old logo removed? Not straight away. During the transition period, the old registration protects products, packaging and signage with the old logo still on the market and serves as a basis for opposing similar applications. The common strategy is to keep the registration with the old logo alive until the next renewal date and deliberately let it go at that point. Dropping it in launch week, while stock and memories are still full of the old logo, opens up the field to competitors. ### My word mark is registered separately. Do I still need to apply for the new logo? Not mandatory, but often advisable. If your word mark is registered separately, your core protection, the wording, is not affected by the logo change; that is a major advantage. If you also want to protect the visual composition of the new logo, a separate application is filed for the version with the logo; in sectors where the risk of visual identity being copied is high, this step should not be skipped. With the word mark as a fixed core, each logo refresh needs an application for the logo only. ### Could the rights of the designer who drew the new logo cause problems? Yes, they could, and this is often overlooked. A logo is also a design subject to copyright protection; a registration obtained without a written assignment of the economic rights from the designer may later face copyright claims. A trademark application containing someone else's copyright is refused if the right holder opposes it (Article 6(6) of the Industrial Property Code). Assignment clauses should go into the design agreement, and this document should be specifically requested from freelance designers and for logos obtained through design competitions. ### What happens if my new logo resembles another trademark? Your new application may be refused on grounds of similarity or face an opposition from the earlier trademark owner (Articles 5(1)(ç) and 6(1) of the Industrial Property Code). Worse, you may face an infringement claim for the period in which you used the logo, and a later registration cannot be raised as a defence against an earlier right (Article 155). So the new logo should be searched at the design stage, while agency alternatives are being shortlisted; a similarity discovered after the launch is the most expensive design revision. ### What should I do about my marketplace and social media registrations? Registrations tied to the brand's visuals, such as marketplace brand registrations, verified accounts and customs recordals, should be updated to the new logo. These updates run independently of the register kept by TÜRKPATENT, Turkey's patent and trademark office, each through the platform's own process, and a registration certificate for the new logo is their strongest basis. The brand usage guidelines in your licence and franchise network should also be updated, and the transition timetable communicated to everyone in the network. ## Related Resources - [Trademark Registration](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-tescil): Explains how a trademark application is handled before TÜRKPATENT, from the preliminary search and class selection to the registration certificate. - [Trademark Search](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-sorgulama): Provides a free tool and method for checking whether a brand name is registrable by searching similar and registered trademarks. - [If You Change Your Trademark, Do You Need to Renew the Registration?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/does-a-modified-trademark-need-a-new-registration): A registered mark's representation cannot be changed in the register, and renewal is no tool for change. Where minor updates end and a new filing is needed. - [Can You Register a Trademark Without a Logo? Word Marks Explained](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-registration-without-a-logo): Yes, you can register a trademark without a logo in Turkey: a word mark protects the name in any font. How it differs from logo marks, its limits and 2026 fees. - [The Trademark Use Requirement: The Five-Year Rule and the Risk of Cancellation](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-use-requirement-and-the-five-year-rule): How trademark cancellation for non-use works in Turkey: the clock runs from registration, genuine use is required and TÜRKPATENT decides. Articles 9 and 26 SMK. - [What Happens to a Trademark Registration If the Owner's Name Changes?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/recording-a-trademark-owner-name-change): A change of name does not invalidate a trademark; its number and priority are kept. What is needed is updating the name in the register — step-by-step process. - [How to Do a Trademark Search](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-do-a-trademark-search): How do you search a trademark? The steps for searching TÜRKPATENT records free of charge, what a similarity search must actually cover, and how to read the result. - [How Do You Check Suspicious Calls and Payment Requests About Your Trademark Registration?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/fake-trademark-invoices-and-payment-requests): Is an invoice, email or call demanding payment for your trademark official? TÜRKPATENT, WIPO and EUIPO warnings, step-by-step checks and red flags to watch.