Getly
A ready-made logo is one of the cheapest ways to give a new business a face. It is also one of the most misunderstood purchases in digital goods, because a logo is not like a planner or a font: you want it to identify you, and ideally only you. Before you buy one, two questions matter more than the design itself: what are you allowed to change, and can you ever protect it as your trademark?
Short answers first. You can usually change a lot, if you get the right files and the licence allows it. Registering a bought template as a trademark is risky, because the same design is normally sold to other people too. The rest of this piece explains why, and what to do instead. It is practical guidance, not legal advice: if a trademark matters to your business, speak to a trademark lawyer in your country.
What is on the shelf
We measured the two logo shelves on Getly, Logo Templates and Logos & Branding, on 26 September 2026. Together they held 37 active listings, all of them paid. The median price was $5.00, and the middle half of the shelf sat between $4.99 and $10.00.
The files tell you more than the prices. This is the share of listings that include at least one file of each kind:
| What the listing delivers | Share of listings |
|---|---|
| PNG image | 35.1% |
| ZIP archive | 35.1% |
| A link to an online editable template | 21.6% |
| 18.9% | |
| SVG vector | 5.4% |
| AI (Illustrator) | 2.7% |
| EPS or PSD | 0% |
And the licence: 89.2% of these listings had no licence type set, 8.1% said commercial use is allowed and 2.7% said personal use only. None of the descriptions mentioned trademarks at all. In other words, on most logo listings the page does not tell you what you are allowed to do with the logo, which is the single most important fact about it.
What you can change, and which files you need for it
Editing a logo means changing the name, the colours, the font, or moving elements around. Whether you can do that depends first on the file, and only then on the licence.
- A vector file (SVG, AI, EPS) lets you change everything and scale the logo to a billboard without blur. This is what a printer, a sign maker or a designer will ask for.
- A link to an online editor lets you change text and colours inside that editor. You work under the editor's own rules as well as the seller's (more on that below).
- A PNG or JPG is a finished picture. You can place it, but changing the text in it properly means redrawing it. A PNG-only logo is fine for a profile picture and weak for anything printed large.
A ZIP can contain any of these, so read the description or ask the seller what is inside before buying. If the listing does not say, that is your question.
Then the licence. Personal use only means the logo is not meant to represent a business at all. Commercial use allows it for your own business. If you are a designer buying the template to adapt for a client, you need a licence that covers client work, which on Getly is the Extended type or custom terms that say so. One more layer: the font in the logo has its own licence. Our guide to font licensing explains what to check.
Why a template is a weak trademark
Three facts, all checked on official pages on 26 September 2026, explain the risk. They describe US law; the details differ in other countries, but the logic is similar.
1. Trademark rights attach to use, not to the file. The US Patent and Trademark Office explains that you become a trademark owner as soon as you start using a mark with your goods or services, and that registration adds stronger protection. Buying a file gives you a picture; the mark comes from using it in trade.
2. Other businesses may use the same design. Most templates are sold non-exclusively: the same logo can be bought by anyone. The USPTO names "likelihood of confusion" as the most common reason it refuses a registration, and says marks do not need to be identical to conflict; being similar in appearance or overall impression can be enough. If another buyer of the same template uses it first, in a related field, your application or your use can collide with theirs. And even if you register first, a design that anyone could buy is a poor foundation for telling customers that this sign means you.
3. You usually get a licence, not ownership. Under US copyright law (17 U.S.C. section 204(a)), a transfer of copyright ownership is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the owner. A template purchase normally gives you permission to use the design; the seller keeps the copyright. Owning a trademark in a design whose copyright belongs to someone else, and which they keep selling, is an uncomfortable position.
Online editors add their own rules. Canva's Content License Agreement, for example, lists among prohibited uses using its content "as part of a trade-mark, design-mark, trade-name, business name or service mark (excluding fonts)". If a template you buy is built from an editor's stock elements, check that editor's licence too.
What to do if you want a logo you can protect
- Use the template as a starting point, not the final mark. Change the symbol, the composition and the lettering until the result is your own design. Keep the template for what it is good at: getting a clean first version out quickly.
- Or commission an exclusive design and ask for a signed written transfer of the rights, so that you own what you register.
- Never buy a logo that imitates a famous brand. A template that looks like a well-known company's mark is not a shortcut; it is the exact thing trademark law exists to stop.
- Search before you commit. Look up your name and mark in the official trademark database for your country before printing anything.
A checklist before you buy a logo template
- Does the listing include a vector file, or at least say what the ZIP contains?
- Is a licence type shown, and does it cover the way you will use the logo (your business, or client work)?
- Is the font named, and is its licence clear?
- Does the description say whether the design is sold to others as well?
- Would you be comfortable seeing the same logo on another business next month?
If you sell logo templates, every item on that list is something you can answer on your listing today: name the files, set the licence, and say plainly that the design is non-exclusive. Our guide to selling logo templates covers the rest.
