Registered Trademark Character: Everything You Need To Know

Key Takeaways

• The TM symbol claims rights to a mark before registration, while the ® symbol stands for a registered trademark with legal protection. 

• The registered trademark symbol—the ® —should be used on packaging, labels, advertisements, websites, and events to alert the public that the mark is legally registered.

• Registering a mark gives the owner the exclusive right to use the mark, nationwide protection for that use, and a presumption of ownership in court, which makes it easier to enforce.

• The trademark symbols can be inserted into Microsoft Office, Mac, HTML, and PDFs, as well as from character maps.

• Businesses must consult a lawyer to ensure their trademark complies with the law and their brand is adequately protected. 

• Registered trademarks increase a brand’s credibility, provide asset value, and afford the right to sue for trademark infringement. 

• Trademarks protect against a third party using the trademark or a ‘confusingly similar’ one that could divert customers, distort the trademark's image, or affect its reputation.

• Post a job on UpCounsel to find a trademark lawyer in your state. 

The ℠ symbol indicates unregistered marks related to services, equivalent to the ™ symbol for products.

The registered trademark character is a symbol used to indicate the associated text, design, or mark is registered and, hence, cannot be used without proper authorization from the owner. 

Important legal considerations must be remembered when using the registered trademark and other trademark and copyright symbols. This article will discuss these considerations and other helpful information about trademark and copyright symbols.

What is a Trademark Symbol?

Atrademark symbolnotifies others about your claim on the trademark and its exclusive use.  

Usually, a trademark symbol is used in cases where the trademark is not yet registered. Still, you want others to know you are using that trademark and will object if someone else uses it without authorization. 

Importance of Registered Trademarks in Protecting Brands

Registered trademarks protect consumers and hence protect a brand's identity and ensure a business's name, logo, or slogan is unique and associated solely with that business. In this way, consumers are protected when they purchase products or services. Consumers know the products or services they are purchasing are provided by the associated entity.

The registration symbol strengthens legal claims against infringers, discourages unauthorized use, and bolsters the brand’s credibility. 

For any business seeking to differentiate itself from its competitors through a distinctive brand, the symbols ® and ™ are crucial parts of intellectual property strategy. Utilizing these symbols incorrectly can be detrimental to a mark holder's rights. Consult an attorney on use and registering your mark. 

Difference Between Trademarks and Registered Trademarks

A trademark is any symbol, word, phrase, design (or combination of these) adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify and distinguish goods from others. A trademark is how customers recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from your competitors. 

Registered trademarks grant the ownerexclusive rights to use the mark for the goods or services it is registered for.  

Trademarks are a means to establish a specific brand's identity and image. Trademarks help consumers recognize the goods or services associated with the mark, and verify that those goods and/or services originate from a specific source. 

However, there is a key distinction between trademarks and registered trademarks:

1. Trademark (™)

• Usage: The trademark symbol (™) is used to claim rights in a mark that has not yet been formally recorded with any same government authority. It is intended to give notice that the owner claims rights in the mark and will oppose any unauthorized use of a mark by others.

• Protection: It only offers common law protection based on use, not the strong legal protection that a registered mark does. Trademark owners may possibly  still sue to enforce their rights in court, but only if they can prove they have used the mark in commerce, and most likely only in particular geographically restricted courts.

• Scope: The rights conveyed by an unregistered trademark may apply only in the geographic zones where consumers use and recognize the mark.

2. Registered Trademark (®)

• Usage: The registered trademark symbol (®) can be used only after the mark has been registered with a government body, such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  

Registration grants the owner the right to use the ® symbol to signify that the mark is legally protected. 

• Protection: A registered mark gives the owner exclusive nationwide legal protection in the country of registration, easier enforcement of the mark in court in case of infringement, and the presumption of ownership in court.  

It also gives the exclusive right to use the mark on the goods or services it is registered for.  

For more information about trademarks, visit theWorld Intellectual Property Organization website. 

• Broad protection: Registered trademarks provide more comprehensive protection thanunregistered trademarks: registration covers the whole country (and can be extended to other countries with more registrations).  

While it is possible to assert and use a trademark without any formal registration (™), a registered trademark (®) provides complete legal protection and greater enforceability, meaning it is a much more useful tool to employ in protecting your brand. Registration is considered to provide constructive notice.

Situations Requiring the Use of ®

You use theregistered trademarksymbol (®) to indicate that a mark is registered with the relevant trademark office (e.g., theUS Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO). 

There are several places where you need to use the ® symbol: 

• Packaging and Labels: When a brand’s name,logo, orsloganis placed on the product packaging, labeling, or advertisement, the registered trademark symbol (®) should be placed next to the registered mark to remind consumers and competitors that the law protects the mark.

• Advertising: Whether in print, online, or throughsocial media, any use of a registered trademark for advertising purposes must be accompanied by the ® to show that it is truly protected. 

• Websites and digital content: Businesses that use their registered trademark on their website, digital banners, ore-commerceshould include the ® symbol next to the mark to ensure protection in the online space.

• At Trade Shows/Events: If the mark is used in the booths, banners, or collateral material at trade shows or other industry events, use ®.

Benefits of Registering a Trademark

Trademark registration carries a host of benefits and affords the possibility of legal redress if infringement occurs: 

• Exclusive rights: When registering a trademark, you get theexclusive rightto use the mark in connection with the goods or services identified in your federal registration.  

Perhaps another company has started making a similar product (or using a similar mark), but it will likely create confusion in customers’ minds about who is behind the product.  

In this case, they might want to buy, you can object to this use, and you might be able to stop it. 

• Nationwide protection: Aregistered US trademarkprovides nationwide protection (assuming protection was sought in the entire country). On the other hand, unregistered marks enjoy only common law protection in the regions in which they are used. 

• Legal presumption: A registered trademark creates a legal presumption of ownership and grants the owner the exclusive right to use the mark in commerce.  

That presumption benefits the owner in anydisputeand makes it easier to prevail in court in an action for infringement.  

• Right to sue for infringement: Trademark registrationallows the owner to sue anyone who uses a confusingly similar or identical mark for similar goods. Trademark registration can prevent your brand from dilution and unauthorized use. 

The right to use the ® symbol is granted by registration and is a strong deterrent to would-be infringers. It indicates to the general public that the mark is protected by law.  

• Asset value: Registered trademarks increase a business's worth; they are assets that can be licensed,franchised, or sold, thereby increasing the business's worth. 

• Amazon Brand Registry Benefits: Not discussed in the scope of this publication.

Registering a trademark provides a legal advantage and helps establish brand identity and security. Trademark registration is vital for protecting a business's assets.

Service Mark

Like a ™ symbol for a trademark, the ℠ symbol is used for a service mark. 

Registered trademark owners use the ® symbol to denote that a trademark is legally registered and protected. You cannot use this symbol for an unregistered trademark.

Copyright Symbol

Copyright is a completely different area of law. Consult a copyright attorney for copyright symbol notices.  

A superscript circled C or the © symbol is used to notify the public of yourcopyrightclaim over a certain piece of creative work. Copyright refers to theexclusive rightto use and distribute an original work granted to its creator. 

Copyright is granted for a limited period of time. It is a type ofintellectual propertyapplicable to original creative work in various forms.  

This includes:  

• Songs

• Poems

• Books

• Plays

• Paintings

• Photographs

• Computer graphics

The symbol P or ℗ is used foraudio worksthat do not fall under copyright. It is an abbreviation for the word phonogram.

Although there are no hard and fastrules regarding the placement of these symbols, they are usually placed at the top right corner of the trademark or protected content.  

Thetrademark symbol is most commonly superscribed. If you wish to create this symbol in your own fonts, just type the letters TM and superscribe them in your software. Similarly, a circled R or ® represents a registered trademark.  

You can either superscribe or place it on the baseline, but it should be slightly raised and reduced compared to the running content.

Inserting Trademark Symbols in Microsoft Office

You can insert a symbol using a keyboard shortcut. 

Just press and hold the Alt key with a certain numerical sequence:

• Press Alt + 0153 to insert a trademark symbol: ™

• Press Alt + 0174 to insert a registered mark symbol: ®

• Press Alt + 0169 to insert a copyright symbol: ©

You must use the numeric keypad in the Num Lock enabled mode. The numeric keys above the alphabet on the main keyboard won't work for this. 

In Microsoft Office, there are two more options to insert these symbols: 

• You just need to type (tm), (r), or (c), and the auto-correct functionality will automatically convert it into a symbol.

• You can insert any symbols using Insert > Symbols from the menu in the Word document.

Inserting Trademark Symbols on a Mac

On a Mac, you can insert thetrademark symbolsusing the following keys: 

• Type in Option + 2 for the ™ mark.

• Type in Option + R for the ® mark.

• Type in Option + G for the © symbol.

Inserting Trademark Symbols in HTML

Following are the shortcuts for trademark symbols in HTML programming:

• For the ™ symbol, type in ™

• For © symbol, type in ©

• For ® symbol, type in ®

Alternatively, you can also use the following shortcuts: 

• ® for registered trademark symbol ®

• ™ for trademark symbol ™

•   for copyright symbol ©

Inserting Trademark Symbols Using Character Map

You can also insert trademark symbols using thecharacter map:

• Open the Windows search box.

• Type in "character map".

• Select the symbol from the pop-up menu.

Inserting Trademark Symbols in PDF

1. Open the PDF document.

2. Click on the Tools tab.

3. Choose the edit option in the Tools Center.

4. Open a Word document and use the same font as in the PDF.

5. Insert a trademark, registered mark, or a copyright symbol in the Word document.

6. Select the symbol in the Word document and copy it using Ctrl+C.

7. Go to your PDF document, take the cursor where you want to insert the symbol and paste the copied symbol using Ctrl+V.

Writing the Service Mark Symbol

The letters SM in superscript denote theservice marksymbol. Unfortunately, most platforms do not have a standard way to insert this symbol quickly. You can insert the service mark symbol in Microsoft Office using the Insert > Symbols option. 

However, this does not work in other circumstances. The easiest way is to copy the symbol from somewhere else. Insert the service mark symbol in HTML using the code ℠.

Conclusion: Key Takeaways on Using Registered Trademark Symbols

Registered trademarks protect your brand by providing nationwide protection and acting as a deterrent against infringement by others.  

They also help ensure the integrity of your brand by demonstrating your business has formalized its intellectual property. Using incorrect or no symbols can lead to less brand protection and unwanted legal exposure.

Consulting Legal Experts for Trademark Issues

Trademark law is not straightforward, and getting proper advice will help you navigate the registration process, infringement issues, and other issues you might face later on.  

A good trademark attorney will help you meet trademark law requirements and avoid costly mistakes. Sound legal advice can help ensure your trademark remains an effective business asset. 

Post a job on UpCounselto find a trademark lawyer in your state.UpCounselaccepts only the top 5% of lawyers on its site.  

Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience. This includes work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.