What does the ® symbol indicate on a product?

What does the ® symbol indicate on a product? It indicates a registered trademark. The symbol tells the public that the preceding word, logo, phrase, or other mark has been registered with an appropriate national trademark office.

A trademark identifies the commercial source of goods or services. Registration can provide important legal advantages, including public notice of ownership and stronger enforcement rights against confusingly similar uses. In the United States, registration is handled by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The ® symbol is different from ™. A business may use ™ for a mark it claims as a trademark even when the mark is not federally registered. Service marks for services may similarly be marked with ℠. Using ® for an unregistered mark can be improper, particularly when the owner has not obtained registration in the relevant jurisdiction.

Registration does not mean every use of the mark is automatically prohibited. Trademark rights generally depend on the goods or services covered, the territory involved, and whether consumers could be confused. The symbol is therefore a legal notice, not a guarantee that the product itself is patented or copyrighted.