Trademark Symbols and Their Usage

Trademark symbols act as visual indicators to demonstrate that brands, product names, logos, designs, phrases, etc. are trademarked by the owner. These trademark symbols not only identify trademark ownership of a mark but also reflect upon the intellectual property rights of the brand owner by warning the competitors about such ownership. The usage of these trademark symbols depends on the nature of the goods/services and the status of the trademark. 

KEY TAKEWAY

Trademark symbols include ™ (referred to as the TM symbol or the trademark symbol), ® (referred to as the R symbol or the registered trademark symbol), and ℠ (referred to as the SM symbol or a service mark symbol). While trademark symbols ™ and ® are the most commonly used, trademark symbol ℠ is not used as often.

What does each trademark symbol mean?

® (Registered Trademark Symbol or R Symbol)

The ® symbol indicates a registered trademark. The registered trademark symbol offers the highest level of protection and encourages consumers to trust the brand’s products and services for which the trademark is registered. Moreover, the registered trademark symbol also warns competitors and discourages them from infringing upon the brand and its products or services for which the trademark is registered. 

™ (Trademark Symbol or TM Symbol)

The ™ symbol, also called the common law trademark symbol, indicates an unregistered trademark. In other words, it indicates that the brand owner claims rights over their brand, and can potentially prevent competitors from indulging in trademark infringement through common law trademark rights. However, using the ™ trademark symbol offers less protection than an officially registered trademark (®), and cannot guarantee trademark protection due to the absence of a public record of when it was first used and limited legal rights. 

​​℠ (Service Mark or SM Symbol)

The ℠ symbol stands for service marks, and as the name suggests, the service mark symbol can only be used to protect services offered as opposed to products. It is pertinent to note that this symbol indicates unregistered trademarks. Some of the common examples of protected services are legal services, medical services, banking services, etc.

When should each trademark symbol be used?

® (Registered Trademark Symbol or R Symbol)

The general rule holds that the registered trademark symbol or the R Symbol, not only indicates that the government recognizes the trademark but also enables the brand owner to use certain laws to protect themselves against trademark infringement by any of their competitors. In other words, the registered trademark symbol indicates that the government recognizes your rights in your brand and that you can enforce these rights in court. 

It is pertinent to be aware that the R Symbol may be correctly used by the trademark owner in the following situations:

• The trademark is registered in the same country/jurisdiction where the product is being sold or where the service is being rendered.

There are instances where you may see the R Symbol being used incorrectly in commerce, such as: 

• The trademark is registered in a different country/jurisdiction than the one where the product is being sold or where the service is being rendered. 

• Another reason (although less common) for using the R Symbol may be that the brand owner doesn’t have a registered trademark anywhere and is merely trying to mislead the public into believing that they own that trademark. 

• Trademarks that were previously registered but were canceled or not renewed. 

If you wish to know the true registration status of a trademark, it is advisable to not only rely upon the symbols used by the brand owner but rather cross-check with the relevant intellectual property database to verify. Moreover, the latter part of the article explains the consequences of using the R Symbol incorrectly.

™ (Trademark Symbol or TM Symbol)

The general rule holds that the trademark symbol or the TM symbol, also called the common law trademark, indicates that a brand owner’s usage of a particular trademark, used in commerce for a certain period, enables the brand owner to show their intent to own the trademark. In other words, the TM Symbol is used when you think it is your trademark, but have not yet officially registered it. Thus, when you put it next to your brand, it signifies that you think that the brand, product name, logo, design, phrases, etc. is your trademark. 

It is pertinent to be aware that the TM Symbol may be used by the trademark owner in the following situations:

• Even though the trademark is unregistered, the brand owner uses the TM symbol to make it publicly apparent that they intend to own the trademark. 

• The brand owner uses the TM symbol while the registration of the trademark is pending.

• While some countries/jurisdictions like France, China, Russia, etc. don’t recognize unregistered trademarks, some common law countries/jurisdictions like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, etc. recognize unregistered trademarks. Thus, the brand owners in the latter countries use the TM Symbol next to their unregistered trademarks.

• Some brand owners have their trademarks registered in some countries/jurisdictions but they sell their products in other countries/jurisdictions. In this situation, they put the TM Symbol next to their marks to let the world know they own that particular mark. 

• Some brand owners have their trademarks registered in some countries/jurisdictions while the registration is pending in other countries/jurisdictions. In this situation, they put the TM Symbol next to their marks in every country/jurisdiction. For instance, Google uses the TM Symbol everywhere. 

• Other reasons (although less common) for using the TM Symbol may be that the brand owner forgot to put the R Symbol after registration, or that the brand owner is unaware of the difference between the TM Symbol and the R Symbol.

Therefore, it is advisable to not rely upon the symbols used by various brand owners and check the intellectual property databases to check whether the TM Symbol is correctly used or not.

​​℠ (Service Mark or SM Symbol)

The service mark trademark or the SM Symbol is used for unregistered trademarks. However, it is pertinent to note that it can only be used if the brand owner wishes to trademark a service as opposed to a product. Brand owners typically use the SM Symbol while their trademark registration is pending.  

Where do I place the trademark symbol?

Although there is no uniform rule on where to use the trademark symbols, brand owners avoid putting these symbols under, above, or on the left of the mark because it is less visible on these sides. The symbol should be visible in all sizes, on a variety of mediums, from small clothing print to the large format billboard. The following placements are the most commonly used:

The upper-right corner of the mark:

The lower-right corner of the mark:

In line with the mark:

What happens if the registered trademark symbol is used incorrectly?

There are instances where a brand owner may intentionally or unintentionally use the trademark symbols in an incorrect manner, such as the following use cases: 

• The brand owner uses the R symbols for trademarks registered in a different country/jurisdiction than the one where the product is being sold or where the service is being rendered. It is pertinent to note that while this may not be a problem in some countries/jurisdictions like the United Kingdom, this may be a problem in other countries/jurisdictions like France. Moreover, doing so can hamper the potential chances of getting the trademark registered in the countries where this may be a problem.

• The brand owner doesn’t have a registered trademark anywhere and is merely trying to mislead the public into believing that they own that trademark. It is pertinent to note that in many countries/jurisdictions, using the R Symbol next to an unregistered trademark is considered to be equivalent to committing “fraud” and is a legal offense. For instance, in the United States, using the R Symbol next to an unregistered trademark is a federal offense and the brand owner could have fraud charges before the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Moreover, this can also lead to the US Trademarks and Patents Office officially blacklisting your brand forever.

• In many jurisdictions, it is prohibited to use trademark symbols within the representation of your trademark on the application. For instance, in the United States, if the brand owner includes the R Symbol in their application, this would be flagged as “unable to register” and will require remediation to address. Moreover, such an application will potentially be rejected due to a violation of federal law since the R Symbol cannot be used in connection with an unregistered trademark. 

Shortcuts for ® and ™ symbols on Windows and Mac

Trademark symbols are used in Superscript and therefore when typed, they appear smaller and in a different font. In most cases, it is easiest to simply copy the symbols below and paste them into your document. However, if you find yourself frequently needing to type these symbols, the following shortcuts can be used to type the TM Symbol and R Symbol on Windows and Mac:

Windows

® (Registered Trademark Symbol or R Symbol)

• Press the Alt key + number keys “0174” to get the R Symbol.

™ (Trademark Symbol or TM Symbol)

• Press the Alt key + number keys “0153” to get the TM Symbol. 

Mac

® (Registered Trademark Symbol or R Symbol)

• Press the Option key + the R letter key to get the R Symbol.

™ (Trademark Symbol or TM Symbol)

• Press the Option key + the number key “2” to get the TM Symbol.

Regardless of your operating system, if you are using Microsoft Office programs such as Microsoft Word, you have the option to “insert symbol” or “special character” function. Through these options, you can find both the R Symbol “®” and the TM Symbol “™”.