The next time you’re eating a candy bar, a bag of chips, or even breakfast cereal, take a closer look at the packaging.  You may see various symbols following the brand name or the logo.  What do these symbols mean? 

Some of these symbols may have to do with trademarks.  The symbol TM (for trademark) and SM (for servicemark) may indicate that someone is claiming the identifier as a mark but it has no legal significance.  The ® symbol is an international symbol to show that the mark is registered at the national level (in the U.S., that’s on a federal registrar).  However, a mark may be protected even if it is not registered at the national level.

As I explained in my pervious article, a trademark is a word, phrase, design, or other feature that primarily serves to identify the source of a product or service. These symbols may indicate that someone is claiming a mark as a way to identify the source of a product.  If a mark is descriptive and weak, using the TM symbol will not improve its status. 

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website has a free database of all marks that have been applied for, including those that were refused.  Navigating this site can be confusing! So try the following steps:

1) Go to www.uspto.gov.  Click on the “Trademarks” link on the left hand side.  Then select “(3) Search TM database (TESS).”

2) Choose “New User Form Search (Basic).”

3) Type in your inquiry in the “Search Term” field and click “Submit Query.”  You can also narrow the search by using the advanced features.  Once you have viewed the results of your search, click on your Internet browser’s “back” button to search again.  Remember, this database only contains marks with current or expired federal United States trademark registrations.  It does not contain registrations from other countries or US states (state registers only record marks used within that state).

Remember, if you search the USPTO website and find no matches, the mark may still be protected.  This is because the United States has no centralized national register: a mark may be registered in another country, a mark may be registered on the state level, and a mark may be protected even if the mark is not registered anywhere.

So put down your snack (just for a second) and take a closer look at the symbols on the packaging.  And remember, some business names, product names, or brand names are also registered trademarks.  If you wonder whether a word or phrase is a registered trademark in the U.S., try doing a trademark search on the USPTO. It's a good place to start in your research!

For more articles by SarahSays, Etsy's inhouse attorney, check out her Legal Info for Artists Featured Column.  You can ask general questions below or suggest article topics in the comments. But don't ask any personal business questions (best to keep that stuff private, y'all!).