I checked and the AFA logo/drawing was copyrighted in 1992 in the US
copyright office. Anon looked at the wrong site - the US. Patent
Office. The link for AFA is :
<http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=American+Ferret++Association&Search_Code=TALL&PID=B7_wHnWSSWnHVXTlZNCYqdnLfRE&SEQ=20120317221301&CNT=25&HIST=1>
However if this link does not work (could you check Bill?) - go
directly to the US Copyright office at
http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First
and type in American Ferret Association in the search box. It comes
up as registered logo in 1992.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has an old mention of AFA which has
the mention of it being expired, however you might note their comment
I have excerpted below the link.
http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/search/Tess_tips.jsp

'Some trademark owners with valid and protected trademark rights do
not choose to register their marks with the USPTO, so those marks will
not be found in this database. However, you should still consider
these other marks when adopting a mark for your goods and/or services.
If a trademark is being used in the United States, the owner may have
legally protected rights that are not the result of the USPTO
registration process. You may therefore wish to consult a trademark
attorney or professional trademark search firm for a more comprehensive
search of, e.g., state registrations and common law marks."

So there are several sites where names and logos may be registered or
patented.

Meryl 

[Moderator's note: An anonymous poster send the following link about
use of copyright and trademark registration symbols:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/tmdb/tmep/0900.htm#_T90602
Guess no need to make it a post of its own since it's anonymous. BIG]

[Posted in FML 7368]