Trademark Case Study: Taco Bell Logo Evolution

I get a lot of questions about logos and other design trademarks, and find that the best way to teach about this subject — or any subject — is the case study. So today, let’s have a look at Taco Bell and its ever-evolving logo.

Anything can serve as a trademark, and logo marks (a type of design mark) are especially recognizable. Our brains are trained to recognize symbols as shortcuts; think about the things that you recognize every day as shorthand for something: Red light means “stop,” green light means “go;” the “man walking” pictogram means it’s safe to cross the street; the circle with a slash through it means “no.” Similarly, trademarks serve as a sort of shorthand: The “golden arches” means “place to get a cheap burger;” the “swoosh” means activewear and athletic gear; the ringing bell logo means “place to get cheap and good Mexican food, fast.”

Logos often evolve over time to reflect changes in graphic design preference and to keep the brand “fresh.” Each time the logo is updated, a new trademark application must be filed for the new logo. Why? Because a logo must be used that is consistent with what is on file with the trademark office. Remember that a trademark must be used in commerce for the owner to continue to have rights to that particular trademark. Trademarks identify the source of the goods or services. When a trademark is no longer “in use,” there is no way for that trademark to serve as a “source identifier,” so it can either be abandoned by the owner or cancelled by a third party for non-use.

Abandonment can happen in a couple of ways: Either the owner fails to file a Declaration of Use at year 5, or fails to renew the trademark at year 10 or at any period thereafter, or the owner files a formal Express Abandonment.

Each time a new logo is adopted, a new trademark application is filed, and the old one is abandoned (assuming that the company has no intention to use it in the future). You can see the evolution of the Taco Bell brand over the years, as graphic design evolves. Yum Brands, Inc., the owner of the Taco Bell logo, updates its trademark registrations to maintain the rights to the logos for this valuable (and famous!) brand.

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