What is the legal requirment to use "TM" or "®"?

Question

Does the use of "TM", "SM" or the "®" symbol require a trademark registration? If not, what exactly is the meaning of these designations?

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Answers: 2 public & 0 private

Tkh
Other Consultant

The TM symbol indicates a claim of trademark rights. The marking may indicate that a trademark application is pending or may indicate a common law mark (rights based on actual use and not necessarily pending with the IP office).

The SM symbol indicates a claim of service mark rights (i.e. a pending or common law mark for web services rather than a product).

The ® indicates registered trademark rights, meaning that you have filed a trademark application with the relevant country IP office and subsequently have been granted a registration from that IP office.

Hope this helps.

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