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The ® on a product means that it’s a registered trademark, meaning the brand name or logo is protected by (officially registered in) the US Patent and Trademark Office, while plain old ™ trademarks have no legal backing.
Trademark symbol A trademark symbol (™), is a mark that represents goods, like clothing or sunglasses. This symbol indicates that you are claiming rights within that mark and will potentially deter others from using it. Additionally, the TM symbol can provide common law trademark rights to the user.
What’s a trademark symbol? Do you use ®, TM, or SM? What do goods and services have to do with it? Are superscripts and subscripts even necessary? Will common law trademark rights be enough to protect your branding? I’ll answer all those questions and more in this how-to-use trademark symbols guide.
Use of trademark symbols is not actually required by law, but doing so is beneficial. In fact, the ™ and SM symbols do not have any legal significance, but instead are informal ways of telling the world that you are claiming ownership of trademark rights in a word, phrase, and/or logo.
Every time you use your trademark, you can use a symbol with it. The symbol lets consumers and competitors know you’re claiming the trademark as yours. You can use “TM” for goods or “SM” for services even if you haven’t filed an application to register your trademark.
Each time you use your mark, it is best to use a designation with it. If registered, use an ® after the mark. If not yet registered, use TM for goods or SM for services, to indicate that you have adopted this as a trademark or service mark, respectively, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO.
Do federal regulations govern the use of the designations "TM" or "SM" or the ® symbol? If you claim rights to use a mark, you may use the "TM" (trademark) or "SM" (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim of a "common-law" mark.
TM (the “trademark symbol”) – This symbol is used for an unregistered trademark, which means a mark that is not officially registered with the government but is still claimed by the owner as a trademark.
The TM symbol (often seen in superscript like this: TM) is usually used in connection with an unregistered mark—a term, slogan, logo, or other indicator—to provide notice to potential infringers that rights in the mark are claimed in connection with specific goods or services.
Trademark owners should understand when to use the "TM" trademark symbol. In the USA, the "TM" is often used with unregistered trademarks.