Copyright vs Trademark

Comments debate whether issues involving logos, designs, or branding are matters of copyright infringement or trademark law, with most emphasizing trademark over copyright.

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IBM TOX VERY FS FREE wikipedia.org futurestack.io newsguidelines.html ycombinator.com SAVAGE trademark copyright logo infringement trademarks logos law disney copyright law fair use

Sample Comments

majewsky • Jun 11, 2019 • View on HN

It's not a copyright issue, it's a trademark issue. Anything resembling the trademark can be considered an infringement, and it's up to a judge to decide what is.

sidewndr46 • Nov 24, 2025 • View on HN

You're saying copyright but it's more likely to be a trademark issue.

talideon • Jul 6, 2021 • View on HN

This would be trademark law if anything, not copyright.

brundolf • Oct 7, 2021 • View on HN

Could that be treated as a trademark issue rather than a copyright issue?

fsckboy • Sep 9, 2023 • View on HN

logos aren't just trademarks, they are also themselves copyrighted, and if he never explicitly gave up the rights...

webmaven • Jun 6, 2019 • View on HN

This would be trademark (or possibly trade-dress, or even design-patent) infringement, not copyright per-se.

nothrabannosir • Apr 24, 2015 • View on HN

There's not just trademark, but also copyright. Somebody designed those logos. Does this fall under fair use?

ninjin • Apr 24, 2019 • View on HN

I am not a lawyer, but I am nearly 100% sure that what you are talking about is trademark protection [1] rather than copyright, people get these wrong frequently. As far as I know, you can enforce your copyright completely arbitrarily.[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark#Maintaining_rights

Buge • Jan 2, 2019 • View on HN

There's copyright law and trademark law. Copyright law might be ok with something but trademark law might ban it. The ban takes precedence.

ugh • Dec 7, 2011 • View on HN

That sounds a lot like trademark infringement, not copyright infringement.