What do “©”, “TM”, “®” “SM”, “patent pending”, “patent regn. no.”, “regd. design no.” and “design patent no.” mean?
“©” – copyright Informs others that the work is to be copyright by the author. Being a globally recognised symbol this means that the work in questions cannot be copied in any country. Legal advice should be sought before using the symbol to ensure that the copyright protection period has not lapsed. “TM” – Trade Mark Informs others that the word or brand name concerned is a trademark. To ensure that the company is rightfully owning the mark it is always prudent to have a search conducted. “®” – Registered Trade Mark This informs others that the mark is registered. Registration can be effective in more that one county. Trade marks are only valid in the country they are covering (an exception is the International Trade Mark). Therefore, registration of a trademark in one country does not necessarily mean that the company concerned has registrations in other countries. “SM” – Service Mark Services Marks are similar to TM’s.
