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Can a word mark include stylised elements or fonts?

Written by Igor Demcak

Founder & Trademark Attorney

The short answer to this question would be "no." A word mark represents only the brand name, slogan, or tagline. The stylised elements, such as font, size, colour, or spacing, are not considered distinctive identifiers and are not covered by the word mark.

If you are using a particular stylised element in your brand name, you can go two routes:

You can register a figurative mark (logo) in the same form you use on your products/website/service. This option generally has a lower chance of being dismissed due to lack of distinctiveness.
You can register a word mark without any stylised elements. If you rebrand, having a trademark that protects the word(s) rather than the exact visual style will be advantageous.

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