The general recommendation is to register the word mark first. A word mark is easy to call out, search, and enforce, its protective boundaries are clear, and it forms the foundation of brand protection; device marks and word-device combined marks follow as supplements. When the budget allows, filing words and devices separately is superior to a combined filing.
Advantages of a Word Mark
Words are the principal vehicle by which consumers remember and call out a brand; search and comparison are intuitive, examination standards are relatively well defined, and the approval rate is more predictable. In enforcement, findings of word similarity are also relatively clear-cut. For most start-up brands, the first trademark should be a plain word mark of the core wording.
Characteristics of a Device Mark
A device mark has no pronunciation; searching relies on figurative-element classification, similarity judgment is more subjective, and proof in enforcement is more complex. On the other hand, a device is not bound by language or script, suits international scenarios, and can protect a distinctive visual identity.
Why a Combined-Only Filing Is Not Recommended
The risk of a word-device combined application is that "one part fails, the whole fails": if any element of the combination is similar to a prior trademark, the entire application is rejected. With separate filings, the word and the device are examined independently without affecting each other, and they can still be combined flexibly in later use. A combined mark can be filed as a third, supplementary application to lock in the overall image.
Recommended Order of Operations
Step one, register the core word mark (filed in black and white, so use is not restricted by color); step two, register the core device or logo; step three, as needed, register the combined mark and English or pinyin variants. Before each filing, run a prior-rights search on the corresponding dimension.
If you are unsure about the above issues, you can first run a trademark registration assessment on MyTMBee and act after obtaining an analysis opinion from a record-filed agent.