Trademark is a distinctive logo, phrase, or design such as “Dunkin’ Donuts®” or “Microsoft®” that uniquely identifies a particular commercial product or series of products with a specific commercial supplier. The symbols ™ or ® are often used to alert the public to the trademark. Anyone claiming ownership of a trademark can use ™ to alert others to their ownership of a trademark. The ® symbol on the other hand indicates that the trademark has been officially registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Federal registration of a trademark is useful in preventing foreign infringement on the trademark and in obtaining registration rights to the trademark outside the United States.

References

“Trademarks.” Avail. URL: http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/ (Accessed June 14, 2005)