You have the right to display a sign that conspicuously and legibly identifies your business. Your right to business identity is protected by the United States Constitution, federal laws, state laws, and important legal principles established through litigation. Briefly, these protections include:
- The United States Constitution
- The First, Fifth and Fourteeth Amendments
- The Highway Beautification Act
- This Act regulates the location and types of signs that are allowed along the nation's highways. On-premise business signs and electronic variable message signs are among those exempted in the Act.
- The Lanham Act
- A federal Act that deals with trademark protection. A federal appeals court in California has interpreted the Lanham Act as prohibiting a city from requiring that a federally registered and protected logo mark or name on a sign be altered as a condition of approval for a sign permit. As a result, in nine western states - including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon & Washington - a city or county may not force the user of a registered trademark to change the color, typeface, or design of the mark to comply with local ordinances or design criteria. However, the federal appeals court for the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont, has interpreted the Lanham Act as allowing local government sign codes in those states to require the alteration of a federally protected mark. Outside of the states mentioned, the law is still unsettled on this issue, and a business owner who is asked to alter the federally protected mark on a sign should contact legal counsel. There are also state trademark laws that offer similar protections in varying degrees.
- Copyright and patent protections
- Your original ideas (i.e. logos, sign design, etc.) can and should be legally protected by copyrights and patents, as appropriate.
Learn more about Legal Considerations.
