A trademark is a sign, symbol, word, or words registered or legalized for the use of representation of a company’s product or services. Trademark of a company is the most important feature of its existence.
Although advisable, a Company may or may not register its trademark. Therefore, any registered trademark or any trademark awaiting registration is symbolized by the letters TM, R or C to indicate the status of the intellectual property.
™ - TM Symbol
As soon as a Company has applied for trademark registration, it can start using the TM symbol. Thus, TM indicates that the trademark used by the Company may be legalized and acts as a warning to prospective infringers and thieves.
? - SM Symbol
SM or Service Mark is a symbol used with trademark applications that are filed under class 35 to 45. Some applicants prefer to use TM Symbol for trademark applications under class 1 to 34. Visit Trademark Classes?
® - R Symbol
It usually takes 15 to 20 months for reviewing a trademark application. After this duration,if there is no objection by the Registrar, they will release the Company name in the official Gazette, and the Company can use R symbol to indicate that its trademark is now registered. The Company will now have its legal benefits.
© - C Symbol
Copyright is a legal right given by law of the country to the creators of original work for its use and trade. Copyright is just like an asset and is a form of intellectual property.
Copyright registration is important to provide legal claim and rights to the owners for the protection of their work. The letter C within a circle symbolizes a Copyright. Thus, any original work such as a book, music album, etc., that uses the Copyright symbol indicates the right over it and has the legal protection.
