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Written by : Audrea Kozeliski |
Current : 2017 |
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Thanks for this great article
Thanks for your comment Kip Giehl, have a nice day.
- Audrea Kozeliski, Staff Member
a common question i receive from entrepreneurs is when can i use the tm sm or r symbol in this video we'll cover the answer hi i'm erica kohlberg i'm a lawyer and the founder of plug-in law where we make legal simple and just quickly if you want to know more about trademarks i created a free trademark guide that you can download i'll leave the link in the description below so you can get that and legally protect your brand so diving right in let's begin with the purpose behind these three symbols businesses often use the tm or sm symbol to let others know that they are using particular words logos phrases or designs as a trademark or service mark in other words they are purposely using these words logos phrases or designs as a source identifier of their goods or services tm refers to trademark and sm refers to a service mark trademarks are generally used to refer to your goods or services whereas service marks only refer to providing services the tm or sm symbol is often used when a company has applied for a federal trademark but it has not yet registered it provides notice to others that the company is using a trademark or service mark then if the company successfully registers the trademark or service mark with the uspto and receives federal trademark protection the tm or sm will be replaced with a r which stands for a federally registered trademark unlike the tm or sm symbol the r symbol allows consumers to know that the trademark is federally registered the r symbol means that the owner of the mark has all of the benefits of federal trademark protection including legal presumption of the validity and ownership of the trademark or service mark the exclusive right to use the trademarker service mark nationwide and the ability to sue in federal court for trademark infringement so to recap here are three important things to keep in mind about tm sm and r symbols number one you can use the tm or sm symbol to let others know that you are using particular words logos phrases or designs as an unregistered trademark an r symbol means that you're using particular words logos phrases or designs as a registered trademark number two you cannot use the r symbol if your trademark is not registered this could actually be considered fraud if your misuse of the registered symbol is found to be deliberate and intended to mislead the public or consumers number three unregistered trademarks or service marks designated by the tm or sm symbol come with different legal rights than a trademark that is federally registered designated by the r symbol the scope of legal protection for unregistered trademarks or service marks is quite narrow and only provides limited common law rights which means that you might be able to retain narrow trademark protection in a limited geographic area on the other hand the scope of legal protection for registered trademarks is much broader only registered trademarks indicated by an r symbol provide federal protection across all 50 states for your trademark as you can see it is important to keep in mind the purpose behind each of the symbols and to be careful to use the correct symbol for your particular situation again if you want to learn more about trademarks you can download the free trademark guide please also hit the thumbs up if this quick video is helpful and i'll see you next in this video where we go over what happens if you don't have a trademark
Thanks Delmar your participation is very much appreciated
- Audrea Kozeliski
About the author
I've studied landscape archaeology and landscape history at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona and I am an expert in social transformation. I usually feel enraged. My previous job was package designer I held this position for 15 years, I love talking about croquet and surfing. Huge fan of Nick Bolton I practice sport climbing and collect eggs.
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