What’s the Difference Between ™ and ® Symbols?

Take a look at the image displayed above. Have you ever wondered what symbols like the ®, as displayed in the Nike logo above, and symbols like ™️ mean in the concept of Intellectual Property Rights? To learn and enhance your knowledge, we’ll discuss the same in today’s article.

Before going into the actual details, to clear the doubts of most of the people who were curious to know about these symbols and their usage, we must first make it clear that, both the symbols ™️ and ® are used for Trademarks only, the only difference being that one is used for unregistered trademarks and the other one is used for registered ones respectively. There, we have answered the big question, so you can go back to doing your work and invest your time somewhere else, or, if you’re curious enough to know more and love the “Jealous Mistress”, ie. Law, stay put and enjoy the ride, because we’re going to dive deep down to understand the concept in depth. Starting with, what is a Trademark?

So, what a Trademark is:

If you’re still wondering what a trademark is, it’s simply a type of Intellectual Property Right that helps a start-up, company, etc., in protecting and differentiating their identity or the identity of their products or services from the products and services of others. A trademark is mainly needed by a company to prevent their original products from being copied and sold in the name of someone else, and thus, once a trademark has achieved the registered status, one can use it as a proprietor and prevent someone else from using it as well. And these symbols that we are going to explain here are mainly used to show the registration status of an Intellectual Property that has been applied to be registered as a Trademark.

Let’s start by first explaining what an Unregistered Trademark is.

What is an Unregistered Trademark?

An unregistered Trademark is generally denoted by the symbol ™️and denotes the names, logos, words, and symbols for the products, services, and companies, etc., which aren’t yet registered through the proper legal procedure in India.

This is the stage when one has applied for a Trademark but hasn’t received it in their name. At this stage, the person who has generally applied for the trademark is either waiting for an invitation to objections or waiting for the objection report presented by the Registrar or awaiting the status change which is going to be given to the Trademark for which they have applied.

This Status is when the application has been submitted, when the Trademark Application Number is generated, and the details of the Trademark can be viewed by the Public on the IP India portal. This is done to invite objections from 3rd parties on the IP India portal.

What if someone copies your Trademark at this stage?

What if the trademark for which you have applied gets copied at this stage only, i.e., the stage of inviting objections? The thing is that you don’t get protection for a trademark at this stage. What this symbol indicates at this stage is that you are simply claiming that the mark is yours; it’s yet to pass through the due legal process. It acts as a notice given to the people and public at large, who want to register any like trademark, and displays that you have already claimed the mark in your name.

Legal Protection at this stage: At this stage, you can sue by using a common law action for “passing off”- sounds like a technical term but it simply means that in a situation were for e.g. You have been using the mark from a long time now, and have established well known goodwill and reputation and someone tries to copy your products which are applied for registration or tries to sell their products in your company’s name, in this situation, you can sue them and prove misrepresentation and damage to your goodwill

To make it more clear- “Passing off” is a tort, that protects that protects the goodwill and reputation of a company or startup, etc., from someone who misrepresents the goods or services of the proprietor.

Registered Trademark:

A registered trademark that has been registered through the due process of law under the Trademarks Act, 1999, has the right to use the ® symbol with its name or logo. This ® symbol signifies that the name, logo, etc. of the proprietor has been officially “Registered”. This comes with the exclusive right to use the trademark, which has been registered in the proprietor’s name for him/her. Now, they have the liberty to use it for their goods and services and use the same for marketing, advertising, emailing, etc.

Unlike the previous one, this is the stage where the proprietor gains the right to sue if someone else starts using the registered trademark. For this, they can file a civil or criminal suit under the Trademarks Act, 1999.

The validity of a Registered trademark is for 10 years from the date on which it has been applied for, which can be extended by paying the renewal fees for a maximum of 10 years each time the registration is renewed. There is no limit as to how many times a trademark can be registered again.

In Conclusion, understanding the difference between ™️ and ® symbols is very important for someone who is using Intellectual Property in the daily course of their business. Where the former offers less protection at the application stage, the latter offers a high level of protection once the trademark becomes “Registered”. Therefore, entrepreneurs, businesses, and creators must be aware of these differences to safeguard their brand identity effectively and ensure legal protection for their innovations and brand elements. Trademark protection isn’t just a legal formality — it’s a strategic asset in building and defending your business reputation.

Always remember, file a case through a well-known law firm, as in this way, the experts in the field will be able to assist you better. For more details, contact us through the details mentioned on the website.