Trademarks and Copyrights Frequently Asked Questions

Table of Contents

1. What is the correct way to use trademarks?
2. How do I identify a trademark?
3. What is the correct symbol usage?
4. How do I use trademarks grammatically?
5. Are all these distinctions really necessary?
6. How do I use copyrights correctly?
7. How do I protect our copyright?
8. What is the correct copyright notification?
9. Where do I place copyright notices?
10. What do I do when I'm in doubt?
11. For More Information

1. What is the correct way to use trademarks?
   

   A trademark can be defined as a word, a symbol, a slogan, a distinctive sound, a design, or a word/design combination that identifies and distinguishes the goods or services of one company from those of another. If used to identify a service, it is a service mark.

2. How do I identify a trademark?
   

   If you use a trademarked name, you must protect it by placing one of these symbols ® ^{TM SM} next to the first or most prominent use of the name. While these symbols need not be used on subsequent uses of the names in a document, treating the names distinctively (bolding, italicizing, using all capital letters or initial capital letters) is highly desirable, because it communicates to the reader that we consider these names unique.

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3. What is the correct symbol usage?
   

   If the trademark is registered with the U.S. Patent Office, use the ® symbol (registered trademark symbol). If the trademark or service mark is not registered, use the ^TM symbol for a product or the ^SM symbol for a service. The ® symbol is ® in HTML markup. There is currently no standard for ^TM or ^SM. The most universal way is to mark them up as smaller, superscripted text:
   
   <SMALL><SUP>TM</SUP></SMALL>
   
   This will display properly in any browser that has implemented HTML 3.0beta or later. It will just display as TM in any other browser. One other option is to use ™ which is being supported on some browsers but isn't yet a standard. (If you're wondering whether it is on yours, here it is: ™.)

   Do not use the ® symbol for an unregistered trademark.

   If you have created a new product name, use the ^TM symbol until it can be registered with the U.S. Patent Office. Any new product name must specifically identify the product or service. Unique spellings, while not required, help ensure that specific identify. (e.g. Tru-Flite arrows, Brite-Lite bulbs)

4. How do I use trademarks grammatically?
   

   A trademark or service mark is always an adjective - never a noun or a verb - and always begins with a capital letter. Trademarks are proper adjectives, since they identify the specific source of the trademarked products or services. In the following example, Tru-Flite is properly used when it acts as an adjective modifying the noun arrows and is improperly used when it acts as a noun:

   Proper: Tru-Flite arrows always hit the target.
   Improper: Tru-Flite always hits the target.

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5. Are all these distinctions really necessary?
   

   While these distinctions may sound like insignificant details, consider the plight of Otis Elevator Company. Years ago, that company produced an advertisement with a similar error in the copy, certainly a detail nobody deemed momentous at the time. However, that one sentence in that one ad helped Otis lose its trademark: Escalator. So now any manufacturer of moving staircases can call their products escalators. You'll want to avoid making this costly mistake with your trademarks, so if in doubt, err on the side of over-protection.

6. How do I use copyrights correctly?
   

   A copyright, or right to copy, is a form of protection granted by the laws of the United States and other countries to the authors of original works. This protection allows the original author to control the later use of both published and unpublished materials. This protection covers literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works.

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7. How do I protect my copyright?
   

   The specific protections granted to you when you correctly copyright your written materials and software include:

   1. Complete control over any reproduction, including photocopying of written materials and copying of software;
   2. Control over the preparation of any derivative works based on copyrighted work;
   3. Control over the right to distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending;
   4. Control over the right to display copyrighted work publicly, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audio/visual work;

   Your work is valuable and that value is only protected from infringement by others if it is properly copyrighted. So, whether you are writing a tech unit, a technical paper, a sales brochure, a trade show graphic, or a company newsletter, always protect that work by copyrighting it.

8. What is the correct copyright notification?
   

   A proper copyright notice consists of the following elements:

   1. The © symbol (© in HTML code)
   2. The first year of publication
   3. The name of the company originating the work

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9. Where do I place copyright notices?
   

   In most instances, the copyright notice should appear on the last page of multi-page documents, or at the bottom of single-page documents. Here are some specifics:

   Brochures and sales literature

   At the bottom of the back cover or the back page

   Ads and posters

   at the bottom of the page, usually below the logo and address

   Company and customer newsletters

   with the editorial staff information

    

10. What do I do when I'm in doubt?
    

    Should you find yourself in doubt copyright it!

11. For More information
    • The USA Copyright Office.
    • The Copyright Website - Recommended! Very thorough.
    • Cyberspace Law review
    • International copyright and trademark law
    • Franklin Pierce Law Library IPMall
    • The Journal of OnLine Law
    • Text of 1976 Copyright Law (USA) - Provided by Cornell University. Includes ammendments in 1984, 1992, 1994.
    • 10 Big Copyright Myths.
    • Oppedahl & Larson Patent Law

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