Date:         Wed, 4 Sep 1996 09:42:59 -0500
Sender: Legal Scholarship Network <CYBERSPACE-LAW@PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM>
From: Alan Lewine <Alan_R_Lewine@SSRN.COM>
Subject:      Cyberspace-Law #29: Trademark 4
To: Multiple recipients of list CYBERSPACE-LAW
              <CYBERSPACE-LAW@PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM>

                    CYBERSPACE LAW FOR NON-LAWYERS

                          Topic: TRADEMARK

                (Number 4 of 6 on the topic TRADEMARK)

                           E-Mail Number: 29

               Date Posted: 4 September 1996, 8:30 am EST


                      *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


     TRADEMARK 4:  What does that little "tm" symbol mean,
     anyway?


     You've probably noticed the little "tm" or "R" sometimes
     appended to product names. What do they mean?

     First, anyone who has a trademark in a word or symbol is
     entitled to use the "tm" designation in connection with
     their use of the trademark. And remember -- in the US, at
     least, you do not need to register with federal or state
     authorities in order to claim something as a trademark, as
     long as it fulfills the criteria we spoke about earlier and
     you are actually using the mark. In fact, trademark owners
     who want to protect their trademarks against infringement
     are often well-advised to do so -- it's a way of informing
     the world that you have (or you think you have) a
     protectable trademark.

     The "R" -- or, more properly, the "R" in a circle (hard to
     reproduce in ASCII text!) -- is reserved for those who have
     registered their trademark with the US Patent and Trademark
     Office.

     But what about your use of someone else's mark? If you refer
     to a trademark that is owned by someone else, do you have to
     put the "tm" designation next to the trademark? If you are
     advertising your product as being "better than Lotus 1-2-3,"
     do you have to write "better than Lotus 1-2-3 [tm]"? Or do
     you at least have to put a little notice that says "Lotus 1-
     2-3 is a trademark belonging to Lotus Development Inc."?

     Well actually, you don't. That is, you are not infringing
     Lotus's trademark if you omit the "tm" designation. On the
     other hand, it is generally regarded as a courtesy to those
     who own valuable trademarks to acknowledge their trademark
     rights in this manner -- and, if your use of the trademarks
     is ever challenged, a notice of this kind will certainly
     help you to argue that you had no intention to confuse
     consumers by using the mark because you were careful to
     indicate that the trademark belonged to someone else.


             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
                              authors:

             Larry Lessig    David Post    Eugene Volokh

             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


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         Yours virtually,
         Alan Lewine
         Cyberspace-Law Listmeister
         Alan_R_Lewine@SSRN.com