So, you want to know more about these bad boys, ™ , ®, ©?
You came to the right place! Go on reading!
™ - stands for a trademark;
® - stands for a registered trademark;
© - stands for copyright.
That's so you can easily copy and paste tm, R and C.
This guide is provided by Bonamark.com, the leading provider of online trademark registration. If you are interested in registering your brand (so you will be able to use the ® sign) send us an email at [email protected] |
That’s extremely easy!
Easy!
That’s a great question! We have the reply right below.
(also SM℠ Symbol) This symbol is used to inform others that you think that the word is your trademark. In some countries, this will give you common law rights. Good examples are the USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and some other countries.
However, it does not mean that the mark is officially protected and that you can sue anyone for misusing your trademark in this case.
SM℠ is used when you sell services and not physical products. It’s not incorrect to use tm symbol ™ if you sell services though. But it is incorrect vice versa. Normally, ℠ is used when you are extremely boring and want to make sure that everyone knows that you sell only services.
It will grant you common law rights in some countries. But in other 180 countries, it will give you absolutely no protection.
You won’t get sued for this if that’s what you mean. Using ™ doesn’t normally qualify as a false trademark claim. So™ you™ can™ use™ it™ as™ you™ wish™. That’s not as smart as it may look like though.
Usually, using ® means that your trademark is registered in a country. In some countries, however, its use is non-regulated and you can apply it even to unregistered trademarks (Canada is an example). But we do not recommend doing so as this might confuse customers.
In 99% of countries, this symbol stands for word REGISTERED, when your trademark is 100% officially registered. Not pending, not published, not applied for, but registered! Also, this symbol is known as the rights reserved symbol or all rights reserved.
In these countries, if you use the R symbol when your trademark is not registered, you can get into trouble as this is illegal, for example in the USA it's a serious crime.
Stay safe, use R only when your mark is Registered. If your mark is not registered, contact us at [email protected] we are the leading trademark registration providers and we will get your mark registered!
The top right corner of your trademark is a perfect place for it. Also, you can put it at the end of your trademark. Bonamark® - that’s an example.
No, don’t do this! Trademarks are territorial, a registered mark in China does not grant you right to use the R symbol in the USA. That’s may be considered a false trademark claim.
No, you should delete it from your logo when applying. This symbol is unregistrable, no one can get an exclusive right over the ® symbol. This applies to ™ and © as well.
That bad boy is used to inform of a copyright claim. You can use it along with your name and date in order to inform others of your ownership over a creation.
Do I have to use the C symbol © to get copyright protection?
Nope, you do not have to. It was required several decades ago, but according to the new Copyright Rules the protection is granted automatically. How cool is that? You created anything and once it is created it’s your property for your entire life + 70 years - absolutely free. Even a photo of your dog you took with your new iPhone X.
If I don’t use the © symbol will I lose my copyright protection?
No, you won’t. Using C symbol is not obligatory to claim the copyright protection.
Can I use ™ to protect my copyright?
It won’t help. TM is for trademarks, © for your creations.