When you can use ™
In the United States, you can put ™ after a mark you use in commerce without registering it. It signals a claim of rights; it does not mean the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has approved anything. That makes ™ the usual choice for:
- a new brand or product name you have just started using,
- a mark with a pending application,
- slogans and logos you don’t plan to register.
For services, the equivalent is the service mark ℠, though many businesses use ™ for both. Once the USPTO registers the mark, you can switch to ®. Using ® before registration is not allowed.
This is general information, not legal advice; a trademark attorney can tell you what applies to your mark.
™ vs. ® vs. ©
| Symbol | Meaning | Registration needed |
|---|---|---|
| ™ | trademark (goods) | no |
| ℠ | service mark | no |
| ® | registered trademark | yes, federal |
| © | copyright | no; covers creative works |
A trademark protects names, logos and slogans that identify who makes a product. Copyright protects creative works such as text, photos and code. A product page can carry both: © on the site content and ™ next to the product name.
Placement and formatting
- Put ™ right after the mark, with no space: Acme Rocket™.
- You don’t need it every time. Common practice is the first or most prominent mention on a page, plus packaging and logos.
- Most fonts already draw ™ small and raised. Don’t add superscript formatting on top, or it shrinks to an unreadable speck.
- In Word and Outlook, typing (tm) converts to ™ automatically.
- On iPhone and Android there is no key for it. Copy it from this page or set up a text replacement, such as “tmk” → ™, in your keyboard settings.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type ™ on Windows?
Hold Alt and type 0153 on the numeric keypad, or type (tm) in Word.
How do I type the trademark symbol on a Mac?
Press Option+2.
Do I need to register a trademark to use ™?
No. In the US, ™ can mark an unregistered name or logo you use in commerce. Only ® requires federal registration.
Should ™ be superscript?
The character is already designed to sit high and small. Add superscript only if your font draws it at full size.
Unicode data: Unicode Character Database 18.0.0 (unicode.org).