Appropriate use of a trademarked name is important to comply with federal law (and if applicable, state law). Trademarks are words, symbols or designs that specifically identify and distinguish the source of an owner’s commercial goods. This means uses of the name that are likely to confuse the public as to whether the use is made by the owner or by another are generally prohibited.
Some trademark owners assume no one else has a right to independently use the mark in any capacity whatsoever. This is not exactly true. One can refer to a trademark name for a legitimate purpose as long as no more of the mark is being used than is necessary for this purpose. Generally, trademark laws merely control commercial use of the name.
Under the fair use doctrine, the more common and generic the word(s) are or have become in the English language, the less likely the trademark owner may be able to regulate them. The fair use doctrine also protects nominative use of the trademark name, as is often done by competitors in marketing materials.
Trademark owners often have their own policies as to how their mark may be used. Here are some typical ways in which a trademark name is authorized for use by a non-owner:
- With correct trademark and service mark symbols: The symbol "®" refers to a federally registered mark, and should be placed after the trademark (e.g. LegalZoom®). In contrast, names that have not been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (or those pending registration) may not use the "®" symbol. These should be denoted with either "TM" for a trademark or "SM" for a service mark (e.g. LegalZipTM).
- As the trademark name appears in the USPTO registry: The mark should not be abbreviated, hyphenated or altered in any other ways. Without misleading or confusing the customer: This is an especially important rule to a trademark owner that lies at the core of trademark protection.
- A trademark must always be kept distinct from any other unaffiliated companies, brands or sources. If the non-owner user of the mark has a branding agreement with the owner, further guidelines can often be found within it.