What is a registered trademark?

Photo of Tomas Orsula

Written by Tomas Orsula

Senior Trademark Attorney

A registered trademark is a trademark that's officially protected and recorded in a national or regional IP office's database. It grants the owner exclusive rights to commercially use the mark in the registered territory within the specified goods and services.

A registered trademark is signified by the ® symbol, while the ™ symbol can be used freely by anyone to signal a claim of trademark rights, even before registration is complete. It is commonly used while an application is in progress, a process that typically takes several months or even years.

The ® symbol is legally reserved for successfully registered trademarks; using it before registration is complete is an offense in most jurisdictions.

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