# Trademark legal wording



## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

I've got a logo design I've come up with that will have the *TM* beside it. Like say on a website or something at the bottom of the page. I'd like to put some legal wording at the bottom. Something like "XYZ logo is a Trademark of ZYX."

Does anyone have examples of wording like that?

And how do I identify my logo in the legal wording since it is a symbol and not a word? Do I just make up a name to call the logo? Kinda like how Nike calls their graphic logo the "Swoosh"? i.e. "The Swoosh logo is a Trademark of Nike"?

And would I just put my name down as the logo being a Trademark of, or use a business name?


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

jasonsmith said:


> I've got a logo design I've come up with that will have the *TM* beside it. Like say on a website or something at the bottom of the page. I'd like to put some legal wording at the bottom. Something like "XYZ logo is a Trademark of ZYX."
> 
> Does anyone have examples of wording like that?


If your mark is federally registered with the USPTO, you can use the ® symbol directly next to the logo. On the bottom of the website, you can use the wording "XYZ logo is a registered trademark of ZYX." XYZ should refer to your logo. ZYX should be whoever is on the official trademark application... either you personally or your registered business.

If your mark is *not* federally registered with the USPTO, you can use the ™ symbol directly next to the logo. On the bottom of the website, you should probably use the wording "XYZ logo is a non-registered trademark of ZYX." XYZ should refer to your logo. ZYX can be either you personally or your registered business, it doesn't really matter since the mark is not actually registered.



jasonsmith said:


> And how do I identify my logo in the legal wording since it is a symbol and not a word? Do I just make up a name to call the logo? Kinda like how Nike calls their graphic logo the "Swoosh"? i.e. "The Swoosh logo is a Trademark of Nike"?


Yes, just use a name that describes the logo.



jasonsmith said:


> And would I just put my name down as the logo being a Trademark of, or use a business name?


For a registered trademark, use whoever is on the official application. For a non-registered trademark, use either your name or registered business name. If your business name is not registered with your state, I wouldn't use it for a legal notice. Use your personal name instead.

It's not uncommon to see these legal notices on websites. But if you are using the ® or ™ symbol next to the logo, that should be enough. No real need to include a legal notice as well. Especially if you are not federally registering the mark. The legal notice will hold very little legal value anyway. Proof of your use of the mark will be more valuable.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

A TM is pretty much not worth much. You can maybe defend it in the location you are working in but really, you need to at least go through the federal registration to defend it.


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