What do the ® and ™ beside logos mean?

What do the ® and ™ beside logos mean?

I am not an attorney. I am an art director. What follows is a very simplified explanation of these ™ ® marks in the USA based on my understanding from my professional work career.

As a professional graphic designer any logo I create has copyrights. This is one form of protection of art work. As that logo art is licensed by me to a business, and as the business grows, it may want additional legal protection for the logo asset.

Logos and Trademarks Confusion ™ ® 

A logo is a form of a Trademark.

Today there are at least seven recognized categories of trademarks and logos:
1. Name only logos (BRAUN, Scripto, XEROX, Kellogg’s, FedEx)
2. Name symbol logos (Ford, Bayer, Hertz, Nike)
3. Initial letter logos (IBM, NBC,)
4. Pictorial name logos (Apple Computer’s apple, Jaguar’ leaping Jaguar, NBC colored peacock)
5. Associative logos (Elmers-cow, Michelin-man, Geico-geeko)
6. Allusive logos (flickr, Yahoo, Corollla)
7. Abstract logos (Olympics five intersecting circles, Nike swoosh, addidas stripes)

These seven categories are frequently simplified when presented by professional graphic designers to clients into:

1. Wordmarks
2. Device marks
3. Composite mark–both a wordmark and a device mark. 

A trademark is a device which can take almost any form, as long as it is capable of identifying and distinguishing specific goods or services. Historically, or traditionally, the term “trademark” described only marks designating products or “goods”.
Often the word today is used to describe both goods and services type of marks. Another type of a trademark, a services mark, indicates the source or origin of services. Examples are plumbers or movers with service marks on delivery vehicles.

A ® means registered trademark. The symbol ™ means trademark. Trademark registration occurs at different levels; state level and federal level.

Before a logo has ™ status at the state level it is first registered at the state level and can carry the ® once legally registered. The business goes through the legal gauntlet of the trademark registration process to use the ® next to its logo art . Eventually the legal paperwork gauntlet gets a business logo to the ™ status. To gain federal level protection the paperwork gauntlet is repeated at a greater expense.

This is part of what a good attorney that specializes in intellectual property rights does for a client.

To learn more on your own read;
1. The Copyright Guide; a Friendly Handbook To Protecting and Profiting From Copyrights. By Lee Wilson.
Another book is:
2. Graphic Artists Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (currently 15th ed).
These reads lead to other books, articles, and people on  ™ ® topics, as well as other associated topics.

What typeface is Coke or Coca-Cola?

It is a Logo.

The Coca-Cola logo art is possibly rooted in the character forms of a popular business correspondence cursive script style writing know as Spencerian script.

Historical Context

In the mid 1880s typewriters started to be common in offices. Business communications were hand written prior to this. A business used business scripts, carefully penned and written by hand with a fountain pen. 

The ease of writing with a ball point pen did not exist until after the typewriter was in place. The ball point pen was improved and was commercially available and sold by the early 20th century.

What Typeface is Coke or Coca-Cola?

Coca-Cola lore has it that the script style logo art was penned by the company bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. The 1900 version is his interpretation of Spencerian script. The Coca-Cola logo has evolved and it has been redesigned several times to what looks like the script classification typeface you see now.

link to TMI on history of logo follows:

A Revealing Look at the Evolution of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Logos

Spencerian Script

Logo brand images

After reading all this wouldn't you like to drink an ice cold refreshing coke?

Which font should I use that will match my logo?

“Which font should I use that will match my logo?”

This is a question answered by the graphic design professional in the graphic design process and methodology work flow used when working the problem of creating a logo and identity for a clients' business.

Designing a company or product logo and designing how the logo works and interacts with other graphic elements is part of the value created by working with a professional graphic designer.

A logo and then associated identity guidelines can be set up as part of the logo and identity system that supports the logo and its use in advertising, marketing communications and general customer communications for a company. Choice of typography, or which fonts to use is part of business identity. This graphic design thinking and planning is what becomes identity and brand strategy that establishes the base and results in cohesive communications for the business .

This is one of the services offered when you work with a professional graphic designer to create a logo and its visual systems such as: business cards, letterheads, envelopes, emails, newsletters, presentations, web sites…

Logo and associated identity guidelines are of value in the time saving start of every business communication conducted. The business colors, the tone of writing, the photo visuals, how design elements relate in 2d space, the paper for stationery or other printed marketing communications has all been strategically determined, prepared and so that new projects have many hurdles cleared.

What does your logo look like? What logo category is it in? Many questions and discussions about your business position, business target audience, business competitors activities are some of the information needed and used to answer, to design and guide you with answering “Which font should I use that will match my logo?” 

Just one benefit of a business relationship when working with graphic design professionals at Ted Baker Design.