Where Do I Put The Trademark Symbol? And Which One Do I Use?

One of my clients asked me yesterday, “Where do I put the trademark symbol, and can I use the “TM” symbol or do I have to wait to use that until after I get my trademark registration?”

This is a very good question. Let’s break that compound question down into its component parts.

Part One: Which symbol do I use, and when? Anyone who is claiming rights to a trademark can use the TM or SM symbol on the words, logo, or anything else that they are using as a source identifier for their goods and services. You can use the TM or SM symbol at any time, irrespective of whether your mark is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or not. Please note that the TM symbol is also commonly used for services in lieu of the SM symbol.

Note, however, that use of the TM symbol does not magically transform a word or a phrase that is incapable of serving as a trademark into a word or a phrase that is capable of serving as a trademark. It merely serves to inform the public that you claim this as a source identifier for your goods. It puts others “on notice” that you are using that term or design as a trademark, even though you haven’t gotten around to registering it yet. (And you are going to register it, right?)

The “circle R” symbol is used after your mark has been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Note that I said “after your mark has registered.” You don’t have the right to use the “R” symbol until your registration has been granted, and merely having submitted an application for registration is not enough. If your registration has lapsed for some reason, you must return to using the “TM” symbol. Circle R is for active registrations in good standing.

Note too that you only have the right to use the circle R symbol in conjunction with the goods for which you have the federal trademark registration. If you own the registration for clothing and shoes, but not for coffee mugs, then you can use the circle R with clothing and shoes, but must use the TM symbol for the coffee mugs.

Note too that the circle R is for FEDERAL registrations; if you have a state trademark registration, you should continue using the TM or SM symbol. If you intentionally use the circle R symbol in an attempt to mislead consumers about the fact of the mark’s registration, the Federal Circuit court has held that to be grounds for denying the registration of an otherwise registrable mark. So don’t lie about your trademark registrations.

Part Two: Where should I put the TM, SM, or circle R symbol? There is no mandate on where to place the symbol, but it should be in close proximity to the logo mark or adjacent to the word mark. The most common placement is to the right of the logo or design mark. If you are using the word mark, again the most common placement of the symbol is the right side of the word (directly after, and usually in a superscript at the upper right of the word).

If for some reason it looks awkward on the right side of the logo, you can put it on the left. The “trademark police” are not going to come after you and throw you in trademark jail if you put it on the left. Again, there is no hard “rule” about this, just a convention and preference for putting it on the right.

You can find me on facebook at  https://rebrand.ly/trademarkdoctoronFB . LIKE my page to be notified every time I go LIVE. Trademark questions? Message me on the Trademark Doctor Facebook page, and I’ll answer your questions on a future Live video.

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