Logo design goes back thousands of years, when tradespeople used pictures to show exactly what they were selling to make it easy for busy (and often illiterate) shoppers in pre-Tesco days. It is impossible to say exactly when or where the first actual logo design sprung up, or even when the first UK logo design came about.  However, trademarks are another issue entirely.

What do you think was the first UK trademark? This is not a matter of argument, but rather a matter of historical record. The first UK trademark, holder of trademark number one at the British Intellectual Property Office, is Bass Pale Ale’s recognizable red triangle logo design. In fact, the Bass company also owns the second trademark as well, for their red diamond.

How did Bass end up in this interesting and historical position? The ale company has been a pioneer in marketing and branding for the better part of two centuries. The red triangle trademark was so well recognized that Bass took care to be the first registrant on the first day of January in 1876, when the 1875 UK Trade Mark Registration Act came into effect. In fact, the company forced an employee to spend his New Year’s Eve waiting in the cold outside the registration office to claim the first two trademarks for their red triangle and red diamond logos. Bass was also one of the London Stock Exchange’s original FT 30 companies in 1935.

These UK logos have been seen throughout the Western world ever since. Manet’s Bar at the Folies-Bergiere shows the Red Triangle logo design on a bottle, as do forty of Picasso’s paintings. It is also mentioned in a novel by James Joyce. In modern times, we can see this UK logo design on a variety of sports match uniforms. They are a universally recognized part of the Bass brand, which makes them a logo design and branding success story.

What do these logos mean? Generally, red is an aggressive colour, although it is also associated with food and drink. A triangle usually means strength, which is an appropriate image for an alcoholic beverage. A diamond usually connotes strength as well, along with quality and wealth. However, the reason these logo designs have lasted so long is likely their simplicity rather than their inherent meaning. They can be readily recognized as part of the Bass company and brand because they have always been associated with it. There is no other company that has a logo similar to these, and they are so simple that it is impossible to confuse them with any other design. A simple red shape really sticks in the consumer’s mind.

One of the most remarkable things about the Bass logo isn’t its number—although number one is certainly a notable position. Rather, it is the fact that it has remained relatively unchanged for a remarkable amount of time—over 130 years, in fact. Will your logo design last this long?

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If you are a start up company and are in the process of naming your company and then registering it, it would pay to consider if you are encroching on any trademarks that already exisit.

Usually, especially in the UK, it is very common for small companies to come up with a name and then register it with out thinking about trademark laws. But trademarking is becoming a serious issue and large companies are always on the look out for any such infringements.

Time and again, I have seen clients sign up to our logo design services in the UK, with names that are close to or the exact same (with perhaps little additions) as large brands. We are reluctant to take up such projects because at the end of the day, if a large company decides to take up the case, then as professional designers, we are also partly responsible for the trademark infringement.

My advice would be that when you conduct a search for a name at the companies house, it would also pay to read about what could be considered as trademark infringement with the UK Patent and Trademark Office. You could also spend an hour searching online and learning about trademark facts.

If you have any thoughts on this issue, I would like to invite you to share it with us by posting a comment below.

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Andrew Collinge, a national hairdressing company based on Liverpool, is going after a small salon Andrew Clifford Hairdressing in Mold for using its initials “ac” in the logo design.

According to BBC, the legal counsel of Collinge has issued a warning to remove the two-letter logo design on its salon sign and website because it creates an impression that Andrew Clifford Hairdressing is connected to this so-called “international ambassador” of the salon industry.

Moreover, Collinge will be forced to take legal action if they continue to use the logo design because it will “inevitably cause damage” to its business and reputation.

For owners Andrew White and Clifford Evans who are running a few salons in Mold for more than 10 years, they are disturbed about this incident for they never considered this would affect Collinge in any way. They are given 14 days to comply with the legal letter from Collinge.

When asked if this logo was intentionally copied from Collinge, White said this simple “ac” design came from his brother using a standard computer font.

Let this be a lesson for many entrepreneurs eagerly building their businesses and brands. Make time to review the logo design of your competitors and even other companies not connected to your industry.

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