# Rules of style re: trademarks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-of-style-re-trademarks/178364 "2003-05-29T20:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-of-style-re-trademarks/178364/1 "2003-05-29T20:50:15Z")
I don’t have my manuals with me, but IIRC it’s not necessary to inlude the [Registered Trademark] symbol with a trademark every time it occurs in text; capitalization is sufficient. Can anyone confirm or correct this for me? Looking for cites; correcting a boss’s work. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-of-style-re-trademarks/178364/2 "2003-05-29T21:17:19Z")
Good quesiton. Had to look it up. This is from the CU Boulder Style Guide > [@](#): > > Trademarks Many words and names are legally trademarked and should appear with initial capitals to acknowledge that fact. Also owners of such trademarks have a legal right to restrict the use of those trademarked terms to their specific product. As a result, avoid using trademarked names, like Kleenex and Xerox, as generic terms. Instead, use facial tissue and photocopier,unless you intend to refer to the trademarked brand name. A good dictionary will tell you whether commonly used words are trademarked and will also indicate if a trademarked term should be capitalized. > > The symbols ® and ™, which often appear on product packaging and advertisements, need not be used in running text. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-of-style-re-trademarks/178364/3 "2003-05-29T21:18:40Z")
Sorry forgot [linkitty-link!](http://www.colorado.edu/Publications/styleguide/capitalization.html#trademarks) ---
**Author:** ![Peg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Peg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peg)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-of-style-re-trademarks/178364/4 "2003-05-29T21:20:29Z")
You’re right – it’s not necessary to use the statutory notice – R/TM/SM – but it does go toward damages (more if you want to alert the world that you own the mark). The important thing is that the mark is made distinctive from the remainder of the (generic) text. I think there are a number of ways you can identify that something is trademarked, and capitalization is one of them. The ® should probably appear the first time you use the mark. If you are using someone else’s TM, you probably want to point out the owner somewhere in the document (e.g., “CRANAPPLE is a registered trademark of Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.”). Cite: Trademark Law, A Practioner’s Guide, 3rd Ed., by SD Kane (Section 4:2) See also the guidelines from the International Trademark Association ([http://www.inta.org/basics/tmfaqsU.shtml#2](http://www.inta.org/basics/tmfaqsU.shtml#2)). ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-of-style-re-trademarks/178364/5 "2003-05-29T22:36:51Z")
Note that there is a difference between protecting your company’s own trademark in your own publications and merely mentioning someone else’s trademarked term in a non-company document. Thus I’m quite sure that Kimberly-Clark’s documents all refer to Kleenex® brand facial tissue, because they are protecting their trademark, but it’s perfectly all right (and in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style) for a character to drink a Coke. Capitalization is most important, but if it’s not too awkward it’s also preferred that you use the trademark as an adjective with the appropriate generic noun (Rollerblade inline skates) given by INTA (linked above). IAAC,NAL (I am a copyeditor, not a lawyer) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-of-style-re-trademarks/178364/6 "2003-05-29T23:50:52Z")
Thanks everyone.