Trade Mark Symbol

How do you use the ™ or ® symbol on your trade mark?

Author: Ian Aldridge, Progressive Legal

So how do you use the ™ or ® symbol on your trade marks? Many business owners ask us this question. On this trade mark FAQ page we provide you with the answer.

You might notice a difference with how big brands use the TM or R symbols at the end of their trade marks. E.g. BRAND NAME ™ or COMPANY ®.

How do you use the TM Symbol?

You can use the ™ symbol when you want to identify to the market that this is your brand, this is your logo, this is your tag-line to make sure that everyone knows that you are serious about it and are willing to protect it. You can use the ™ symbol on your brand material if you have not filed a trade mark application or you have a pending trade mark but it is not essential and it gives you no legal rights.

How do you use the R Symbol?

Once you have a registered trade mark it is strongly recommended that you mark your brand and any products with the ® symbol.  This puts others on notice to respect your trade mark. It is illegal to use the ® symbol before your trade mark is registered. You should only use the ® symbol when you have registered rights in the trade mark. Most businesses will use the ™ symbol all the way up to final registration of their mark and then once it is registered, then change the symbol at the end to ® .

You can use the Copyright symbol © on your literary work, website, publications etc without registering the work as you have inherent copyright in your words. Best practice is to identify eg “Copyright © 2019 – Progressive Legal Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.”

How do you type a TM symbol?

If you want to use the trademark symbol, the easiest way to do this is:

Windows-based computer

Hold down the Ctrl+Alt+T keys.

Macintosh computer

Hold down the “Option” key and press “2”

How do you type an R symbol?

If you have a registered trade mark, it’s advisable to add the Registered Trade Mark Symbol to your branding.

The easiest way to do this is:

Windows-based computer

Hold down the “Alt” key and type 0174. This will create ®

Macintosh computer

Hold down the “Option” key and press “R”

Video: How to use your trade mark to identify your brand

“Most businesses will use the ™ symbol all the way up to final registration of their mark and then once it is registered, then change the symbol at the end to ® .”

Link: https://youtu.be/DQjDunYbELQ

“Ian and his team helped me sort out a trade mark in an efficient, uncomplicated fashion.”

Lisa Burling, LBPR