Legal Definitions - trademark-registration notice

A trademark-registration notice is a symbol or legend that indicates a mark is protected by registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This notice is only used for marks that have been federally registered.

The most common symbol used for this notice is the R-within-a-circle symbol (®). However, the legend "Reg. U.S. Pat. Off." is also acceptable.

Example 1: Nike®

Example 2: Coca-Cola®

These examples illustrate the use of the trademark-registration notice. Both Nike and Coca-Cola have federally registered trademarks, which is indicated by the use of the R-within-a-circle symbol next to their respective marks.