Plagiarism and borrowing in logos: how to avoid legal risks
Similarity to the degree of confusion: three criteria and the rule of 'enough is one'
Rospatent and courts apply a methodology established in the order of the Ministry for Economic Development No. 482 and clarified in the ruling of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 10. Logos are compared based on three characteristics simultaneously:
- Phonetic — how the verbal part sounds: complete sound matching, matching of initial syllables, similar rhythm with different spelling
- Graphic — form, composition, color solution, font style
- Semantic — meaning, associations, metaphorical value of a word or image
Practice is stricter than it seems: for similarity to be recognized, it is sufficient that one criterion matches, not all three. A logo may sound differently, but if the composition and color palette repeat another mark — that is enough for refusal of registration or for a lawsuit. Identity is a separate, heavier category: complete matching of all three points automatically blocks registration for identical goods, without comparative examination.
A telling case is the SIP-1099/2023 matter, a ruling issued on 28 February 2025 year. The court for the first time qualified as an act of unfair competition the registration of a 'simplified version' of a logo that visually reproduced the composition of an earlier mark. Practice lesson: minimalism and modification of details do not save you if the overall structure is preserved — the arrangement of elements, proportions, silhouette.
Three levels of protection — and where business loses rights by default
The fact that a logo was created by a designer only provides one of three levels of protection, and it is precisely at this level that the majority of clients erroneously find reassurance.
| Level of protection | Legal basis | What actually provides protection | When it arises |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright on the image | art. 1259, 1257 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation | The fact of creating an original image, the right to the author's name | Automatically, from the moment of creation |
| Trademark | art. 1477, 1481 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation | Exclusive use in specific classes of the Nice Classification | Only after registration with Rospatent |
| Contractual alienation of rights | art. 1234, 1288–1290 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation | Transfer of exclusive rights from the designer to the client | Only if directly formulated in the contract |
Without a second level, the logo is not protected from copying by competitors: copyright protects a specific image, but does not prevent another business from registering a similar mark in the same class of goods earlier than you. Without a third level — the client risks receiving a claim from their own designer years later, even if the logo is long registered as a trademark and generates revenue.
Check the design before the brief, not after the mockup is delivered
Intellectual Property Lawyer Elena Ustinova insists: the order of actions should be the reverse of what is customary. First, the check — then the concept, not the other way around, because redesigning a finished logo is more expensive than adjusting the idea at the start.
- Formulate the verbal part of the mark (name, slogan) and check it separately from the graphics
- Check the Rospatent database for matches in your class of the Nice Classification and adjacent classes
- Check applications with priority — they are not visible in the free open search, but are legally 'older' than your future registration
- Check the schedule separately from the text: icons, patterns, color combinations
- Only after that approve the brief and launch the development of concepts
The gap that costs a lot: free search on the Rospatent website covers only already registered marks — and there are over a million of them in the registry. A competitor's application submitted a week ago does not appear in the open database, but has an earlier priority and may block your registration in a few months during the review. Formal search takes minutes, but does not guarantee anything; a full check through a patent agent costs from 15 to 40 thousand rubles and considers applications under examination.
The registration of a trademark with Rospatent is not a fast procedure: the fee for filing an application is 3500 rubles plus 1000 rubles for each additional International Classification of Goods and Services (MKTSU) class beyond the first, substantive examination is from 11500 rubles per class, and the entire cycle from application to certificate takes 12–18 months.
Fonts and stock images: the source of claims that people forget about
More often than direct copying of another's logo, another story is encountered: a designer inserted into a mark an element for which they did not have rights for commercial use specifically within a trademark.
A font is an object with dual protection: as a computer program and as a graphic work simultaneously. A standard desktop license for a font almost never covers embedding in a logo and subsequent registration as a trademark — most foundry studios have a separate, more expensive 'logo license' for this purpose. If it wasn't purchased, the lawsuit is brought not by the designer but by the company using the logo: the argument 'I didn't know the font was paid' is not accepted by the court.
- A stock icon was used without a license permitting commercial registration as a trademark
- The font was purchased under a personal (desktop) license, not a license for logos and branding
- A pattern or graphic element was taken from a photo stock without an extended license
- A composition of a well-known brand was copied 'in the spirit of reference' without changing the structure
A contract with a designer: where clients lose rights for years to come
Payment for the work is not equal to the transfer of copyright — this is the most expensive misconception among all those listed. If the contract does not contain a direct formulation regarding the alienation of exclusive rights under Article 1234 of the Russian Civil Code, the court will qualify such a contract as a licensing agreement (Article 1235 of the Russian Civil Code) — that is, the designer retains the right to dispose of the logo and demand compensation even years later, while the mark is registered and operates in advertising.
The contract must contain four clauses without room for double interpretation:
- The formulation 'alienation of exclusive rights in full scope,' rather than general terms about 'performance of works under the contract'
- A guarantee of originality — a statement by the contractor that the fonts, icons, and patterns were used legally and with the proper license
- The contractor's liability for breach of this guarantee, including compensation for the client's losses from future claims by third parties
- A list of specific objects of rights transfer — final files, sketches, intermediate variants, vector sources
How much it really costs to violate
Under Article 1515 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in the version 214-FZ, the upper limit for compensation for trademark infringement has increased from 5 to 10 million rubles. There is also an alternative basis — double the value of counterfeit goods or double the value of the right to use the mark under a license, and this basis is often more advantageous than a fixed amount if the infringer's turnover is large.
Courts have stopped automatically reducing claimed amounts. In case No. A41-61527/2023, the higher instance cancelled the decision to reduce compensation by exactly two times — precisely because the lower court applied the reduction without evidence of the actual damage. Practical conclusion: a plaintiff who properly substantiated the damage calculation today has a high probability of receiving an amount close to the claimed sum, rather than a 'symbolic' compensation at the court's discretion.
Similarity to the degree of confusion: three criteria and the rule of 'enough is one'
Rospatent and courts apply a methodology established in the order of the Ministry for Economic Development No. 482 and clarified in the ruling of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 10. Logos are compared based on three characteristics simultaneously:
- Phonetic — how the verbal part sounds: complete sound matching, matching of initial syllables, similar rhythm with different spelling
- Graphic — form, composition, color solution, font style
- Semantic — meaning, associations, metaphorical value of a word or image
Practice is stricter than it seems: for similarity to be recognized, it is sufficient that one criterion matches, not all three. A logo may sound differently, but if the composition and color palette repeat another mark — that is enough for refusal of registration or for a lawsuit. Identity is a separate, heavier category: complete matching of all three points automatically blocks registration for identical goods, without comparative examination.
A telling case is the SIP-1099/2023 matter, a ruling issued on 28 February 2025 year. The court for the first time qualified as an act of unfair competition the registration of a 'simplified version' of a logo that visually reproduced the composition of an earlier mark. Practice lesson: minimalism and modification of details do not save you if the overall structure is preserved — the arrangement of elements, proportions, silhouette.
Three levels of protection — and where business loses rights by default
The fact that a logo was created by a designer only provides one of three levels of protection, and it is precisely at this level that the majority of clients erroneously find reassurance.
| Level of protection | Legal basis | What actually provides protection | When it arises |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright on the image | art. 1259, 1257 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation | The fact of creating an original image, the right to the author's name | Automatically, from the moment of creation |
| Trademark | art. 1477, 1481 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation | Exclusive use in specific classes of the Nice Classification | Only after registration with Rospatent |
| Contractual alienation of rights | art. 1234, 1288–1290 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation | Transfer of exclusive rights from the designer to the client | Only if directly formulated in the contract |
Without a second level, the logo is not protected from copying by competitors: copyright protects a specific image, but does not prevent another business from registering a similar mark in the same class of goods earlier than you. Without a third level — the client risks receiving a claim from their own designer years later, even if the logo is long registered as a trademark and generates revenue.
Check the design before the brief, not after the mockup is delivered
Intellectual Property Lawyer Elena Ustinova insists: the order of actions should be the reverse of what is customary. First, the check — then the concept, not the other way around, because redesigning a finished logo is more expensive than adjusting the idea at the start.
- Formulate the verbal part of the mark (name, slogan) and check it separately from the graphics
- Check the Rospatent database for matches in your class of the Nice Classification and adjacent classes
- Check applications with priority — they are not visible in the free open search, but are legally 'older' than your future registration
- Check the schedule separately from the text: icons, patterns, color combinations
- Only after that approve the brief and launch the development of concepts
The gap that costs a lot: free search on the Rospatent website covers only already registered marks — and there are over a million of them in the registry. A competitor's application submitted a week ago does not appear in the open database, but has an earlier priority and may block your registration in a few months during the review. Formal search takes minutes, but does not guarantee anything; a full check through a patent agent costs from 15 to 40 thousand rubles and considers applications under examination.
The registration of a trademark with Rospatent is not a fast procedure: the fee for filing an application is 3500 rubles plus 1000 rubles for each additional International Classification of Goods and Services (MKTSU) class beyond the first, substantive examination is from 11500 rubles per class, and the entire cycle from application to certificate takes 12–18 months.
Fonts and stock images: the source of claims that people forget about
More often than direct copying of another's logo, another story is encountered: a designer inserted into a mark an element for which they did not have rights for commercial use specifically within a trademark.
A font is an object with dual protection: as a computer program and as a graphic work simultaneously. A standard desktop license for a font almost never covers embedding in a logo and subsequent registration as a trademark — most foundry studios have a separate, more expensive 'logo license' for this purpose. If it wasn't purchased, the lawsuit is brought not by the designer but by the company using the logo: the argument 'I didn't know the font was paid' is not accepted by the court.
- A stock icon was used without a license permitting commercial registration as a trademark
- The font was purchased under a personal (desktop) license, not a license for logos and branding
- A pattern or graphic element was taken from a photo stock without an extended license
- A composition of a well-known brand was copied 'in the spirit of reference' without changing the structure
A contract with a designer: where clients lose rights for years to come
Payment for the work is not equal to the transfer of copyright — this is the most expensive misconception among all those listed. If the contract does not contain a direct formulation regarding the alienation of exclusive rights under Article 1234 of the Russian Civil Code, the court will qualify such a contract as a licensing agreement (Article 1235 of the Russian Civil Code) — that is, the designer retains the right to dispose of the logo and demand compensation even years later, while the mark is registered and operates in advertising.
The contract must contain four clauses without room for double interpretation:
- The formulation 'alienation of exclusive rights in full scope,' rather than general terms about 'performance of works under the contract'
- A guarantee of originality — a statement by the contractor that the fonts, icons, and patterns were used legally and with the proper license
- The contractor's liability for breach of this guarantee, including compensation for the client's losses from future claims by third parties
- A list of specific objects of rights transfer — final files, sketches, intermediate variants, vector sources
How much it really costs to violate
Under Article 1515 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in the version 214-FZ, the upper limit for compensation for trademark infringement has increased from 5 to 10 million rubles. There is also an alternative basis — double the value of counterfeit goods or double the value of the right to use the mark under a license, and this basis is often more advantageous than a fixed amount if the infringer's turnover is large.
Courts have stopped automatically reducing claimed amounts. In case No. A41-61527/2023, the higher instance cancelled the decision to reduce compensation by exactly two times — precisely because the lower court applied the reduction without evidence of the actual damage. Practical conclusion: a plaintiff who properly substantiated the damage calculation today has a high probability of receiving an amount close to the claimed sum, rather than a 'symbolic' compensation at the court's discretion.
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