To use the registered trademark symbol correctly, place ® in superscript immediately after a mark that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has federally registered, and only for the specific goods or services listed on your registration certificate. Using it on a pending application, an unregistered mark, or goods outside your registration can expose you to fraud claims and complicate your case if you ever need to enforce the mark.
When You’re Allowed to Use ®
The rule is strict: you may attach ® to your mark only after the USPTO has issued your registration certificate, and only for the goods or services that certificate covers.1United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Basics – What Is a Trademark – Section: Using the Trademark Symbols TM, SM, and ® If your application is still pending, the symbol is off-limits. If your registration covers coffee mugs but you’ve expanded into t-shirts, you cannot use ® on the shirts until you separately register the mark for that class.
The symbol is also unavailable for common law marks (unregistered marks you’ve built rights in through use) and for marks registered only at the state level. State and federal registration are entirely different systems, and only federal registration on the Principal Register earns the right to display ®.1United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Basics – What Is a Trademark – Section: Using the Trademark Symbols TM, SM, and ®
Where to Place the Symbol
Position the ® in superscript directly after the mark, in the upper-right corner: BRAND®. If your layout makes that awkward, the lower-right corner is acceptable. What matters is that the symbol sits close enough to the mark that a reader connects the two instantly.
You don’t need to stamp ® on every appearance of your mark. The standard practice is to use it at least with the most prominent display on any given page or piece of packaging. On a webpage, that usually means the first appearance of the mark or a header that repeats across pages. A one-page flyer needs it once. Longer documents work well with one use per page. On social media, most owners put it in the username or bio and skip it in individual posts.
Be consistent. If your packaging carries ® but your website doesn’t, you create gaps in your notice that can matter later in litigation.
What to Use Before You’re Registered
If your mark isn’t federally registered, you can still signal that you’re claiming it. Use ™ for goods and ℠ for services. Neither requires a registration or a filing, and you can use them before you even submit a trademark application.1United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Basics – What Is a Trademark – Section: Using the Trademark Symbols TM, SM, and ® Once your federal registration comes through, switch to ®.
Written Alternatives
Federal law recognizes three equivalent ways to provide notice of your registration. Besides the ® symbol, you can display the phrase “Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office” or the abbreviation “Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.” next to the mark.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1111 – Notice of Registration; Display with Mark; Recovery of Profits and Damages in Infringement Suit All three carry identical legal weight. The written forms are useful in contexts where the ® glyph is hard to render, such as certain packaging materials or plain-text documents.
Why Proper Notice Protects Your Right to Damages
This is where owners often miss the stakes. If you sue someone for infringing your registered mark but you haven’t been displaying ® or one of the written alternatives, you cannot recover the infringer’s profits or your own damages unless you can prove the infringer had actual notice of your registration.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1111 – Notice of Registration; Display with Mark; Recovery of Profits and Damages in Infringement Suit
Proving actual notice is harder than it sounds. You’d need evidence that the infringer knew about your specific registration, not just your brand. Displaying ® eliminates that problem because federal registration constitutes constructive notice to everyone in the country, whether or not they’ve ever seen your product.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1072 – Registration as Constructive Notice of Claim of Ownership Skipping the symbol won’t void your registration, but it can gut the financial recovery you’d otherwise be entitled to.
Consequences of Misusing the Symbol
Using ® on a mark that isn’t federally registered isn’t a matter of etiquette. Deliberately misusing the symbol to deceive the public constitutes trademark fraud, and anyone injured by a fraudulent registration can bring a civil action for damages.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1120 – Civil Liability for False or Fraudulent Registration
Improper use can also derail a pending application. If the USPTO discovers that an applicant has been displaying ® before registration was granted, it may refuse the application on fraud grounds. Even innocent mistakes can create complications during examination, so the safest course is to stick with ™ or ℠ until your certificate is actually in hand.
Using ® Outside the United States
If you sell internationally, the rules change. In most countries, ® can be used only for marks registered in that specific country, and displaying it on an unregistered mark is a civil or criminal offense in many jurisdictions. A U.S. registration does not entitle you to use ® in Canada, the EU, or anywhere else without a valid local registration.
For owners expanding abroad, the Madrid Protocol offers a streamlined path: a single international application can seek protection in over 100 member countries. Once the USPTO issues a certificate of extension of protection for a Madrid Protocol registration, that extension carries the same legal effect as a standard U.S. registration.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC Chapter 22, Subchapter IV – The Madrid Protocol Still, confirm the rules in each destination country before using ® on products or marketing materials there.
Keeping Your Right to Use ® Alive
Your right to display ® lasts only as long as your registration stays active, and the USPTO will cancel it if you miss required maintenance filings. Two deadline windows matter:7United States Patent and Trademark Office. Keeping Your Registration Alive
- Between years 5 and 6, file a Section 8 declaration confirming you’re still using the mark in commerce. Miss it and the registration is cancelled.
- Between years 9 and 10, and every 10 years after, file both a Section 8 declaration and a Section 9 renewal application.
Each deadline carries a six-month grace period, but late filing costs extra. The standard electronic filing fee is $325 per class for the Section 8 declaration and another $325 per class for the Section 9 renewal. Filing both together during the grace period runs $850 per class with late surcharges included.8United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule
Registrations obtained through the Madrid Protocol follow a slightly different schedule. You still file a use declaration between years 5 and 6, and then between years 9 and 10 and every 10 years afterward, but these are Section 71 declarations rather than Section 8, and renewal is handled through the World Intellectual Property Organization instead of a separate Section 9 filing with the USPTO.7United States Patent and Trademark Office. Keeping Your Registration Alive The USPTO recommends filing early in the year your deadline falls due rather than waiting until the last month.
If your registration lapses because you missed a filing, you lose the right to display ® immediately. Restoring it means filing a new application and going through the full examination process again.