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If you buy a product and see on the packaging an R surrounded by a circle — what is commonly called the “Circle R” or the ® symbol — that signifies that the manufacturer or seller of the product has registered its trademark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The Circle R symbol must be placed near the registered trademark and cannot adorn packaging, products or advertisements unless the trademark is validly registered. This means that if a trademark registration is lost, then the owner of the trademark must stop using the Circle R with reference to the trademark.
If a company has successfully trademarked their logo or slogan, then they can stop others from using it and even go after those who infringement on their rights. The trademark system is an important part of protecting your intellectual property – which includes symbols, words phrases designs logos etc., by identifying commercial sources for goods & services and allowing owners to sue if someone uses one without permission (infringement).
Use of the Circle R by trademark owners makes consumers and competitors in the marketplace aware that the trademark is officially registered and in good standing. Note that both aspects are important. For the best legal protection, trademarks must be registered. But registration must be periodically renewed with the USPTO. Thus, using the Circle R symbol also denotes that the owner has maintained the registration and has not otherwise lost registration (through non-use and court or administrative action). Here are a few other FAQs about the circle R symbol:
Do trademark owners have to use the Circle R?
Trademark owners are not legally required to use the Circle R symbol. However, legally, it is advisable to use the symbol.
If use is not mandatory, why bother using the Circle R?
There is one practical reason to use the Circle R symbol even though it is not legally required: use of the symbol suggests pride in one’s trademark which also suggests pride in one’s product or service. That can be important to retaining consumer loyalty.
However, more importantly, using the Circle R symbol can be legally significant if trademark infringement litigation is filed. To maximize the possible damages that can be recovered in an infringement lawsuit, the owner of the trademark must prove that the infringer had actual knowledge of the registered trademark. Using the Circle R symbol is one method of proving actual knowledge.
Where should the Circle R be placed?
Generally, the Circle R should be placed on the product, packaging, or advertising whenever and wherever the trademark appears. Most often, the Circle R is located — in smaller size — to the lower right or upper left of the trademark. In written materials, the Circle R symbol should follow the first mention of a trademarked word or phrase.
What is the history of the Circle R symbol?
Historically, the Circle R symbol was called a RACOL which stood for “registered & authorized company logo.” The symbol was specifically recognized and given its current legal significance in the US when the Trademark Act was amended in 1946. See 15 U.S. Code § 1111.
For more information or if you have questions about creating and registering a trademark, contact the trademark lawyers at Revision Legal at 231-714-0100.
The ® symbol is a federal notice reserved exclusively for marks registered with the USPTO. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1111, use of the ® symbol constitutes constructive notice to the public of the trademark’s registration. This constructive notice is legally significant: if a defendant had actual notice of the registration (or would have had notice with reasonable diligence), the defendant cannot claim innocent infringement to reduce damages.
Conversely, using ® on an unregistered mark is a federal violation. It constitutes a false or fraudulent declaration to the public and can constitute inequitable conduct that bars the owner from recovering attorneys’ fees in trademark litigation. It can also be used to impeach the credibility of the mark owner in any USPTO proceeding. Always verify that a registration certificate has actually issued before placing ® on the mark.
The USPTO does not dictate exactly where the ® symbol must be placed relative to the mark, but conventional practice and trademark law principles establish some clear guidelines. The symbol should appear in a way that associates it clearly with the specific registered mark—not with surrounding text, company names, or taglines that are not themselves registered. Best practices include:
The three trademark symbols serve different functions and communicate different legal status:
Using ™ before registration is actually encouraged—it signals active trademark rights and may deter infringement even before federal registration is obtained. Switching to ® promptly after registration issues is equally important.
Outside the United States, the ® symbol has comparable (but not identical) significance. Under most international trademark systems that follow the Paris Convention or the Madrid Protocol, ® indicates federal/national registration in the country of use. Using ® in a country where the mark is not registered can violate that country’s trademark laws. Companies operating internationally should audit their trademark portfolio country by country before uniformly applying ® to global marketing materials.
The Madrid Protocol allows U.S. trademark owners to obtain international registrations in over 130 countries through a single filing with the USPTO. Marks registered through the Madrid Protocol may use ® in all designated member countries where registration is granted, but only after those national registrations actually issue.
After five years of continuous post-registration use, a trademark owner may file a Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability under 15 U.S.C. § 1065. An incontestable registration provides the owner with a nearly irrebuttable presumption of the mark’s validity, its ownership, and the registrant’s exclusive right to use the mark in commerce. Incontestability eliminates descriptiveness and secondary meaning as defenses in infringement litigation and is one of the most powerful legal protections available to a trademark owner.
Contact the trademark lawyers at Revision Legal at 231-714-0100 with questions about trademark registration and proper symbol usage.
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