Learn what different trademark symbols mean

Trademarks protect the branding of a service or product, while patents protect the product or service itself

Trademark protections cover the branding of a service or product, like its logo, its smell, or even its shape. However, patent protections give inventors exclusive control over a new product—as long as those inventors disclose how the product works and how they made it.

Trademarks are a form of consumer protection

Trademarks help brands distinguish their products from competitors, but they also give consumers clarity around the product they are buying and where it comes from. Distinguishable names help prevent consumer confusion and maintain a consumer's ability to choose their preferred product and brand.

The median trademark of public companies in the US is worth $22.5M

There are multiple approaches to evaluating the value of a trademark. Some strategies include analyzing the value of royalty payments a trademark produces and the cost of recreating the trademark or brand.

Search the official trademark database

The official trademark registry is managed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The registry shows the trademark's status, the owner, and the trademark's serial number.

The value of a trademark is just one element of brand valuation

Brand valuations give companies an idea of how valuable assets, like logos, are to the company and can help determine how much money branding departments should receive. Typically, brand valuations are a compilation of brand awareness metrics, like a consumer's willingness to pay, the value of a trademark, and the company's market position.

Trademarks are just one type of intellectual property

Intellectual property refers to any intangible "creation of the mind," which includes ideas, creative works, and even trade secrets. Trademarks, copyright, and patents are all protected by intellectual property laws—but each protection is separate and distinct.

Scents, when they are truly unique and identifiable to a particular brand, can be trademarked.

Learn what constitutes trademark infringement

Infringement is a trademark violation that threatens the owner's exclusive right to use a trademark. The general standard for proving any trademark infringement is the likelihood of causing confusion to a normal consumer.

Listen to the pros and cons of owning a trademark as a small business owner

For many small business owners, it can be hard to decide when the time is right to file a trademark. This trademark lawyer says the decision often comes down to a product's branding, the size of the business, and how established the company is.

The international trademark framework is called the Madrid Protocol

Trademarks vary from country to country, but an agreement called the Madrid Protocol allows trademark protections across more than 100 participating countries. While the Madrid Protocol expands trademark access, it doesn't necessarily grant blanket protections across the participating countries, meaning each country is still in charge of its own trademark enforcement.

Trade dress is a form of trademark that applies to the physical appearance of a product

Distinct visual characteristics of products, like the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle or the interior layout of an Apple store, can be protected. These characteristics are protected to help consumers quickly identify certain brands.

'Dilution' is any use of a trademark that weakens its distinctiveness

Unlike trademark infringement that hinges on the likelihood of confusing customers, trademark dilution is an illegal practice that threatens the distinctiveness of a trademark. In the US, famous brands like Nike and Google have a right to protection from dilution.

Explore a list of trademarked phrases

Trademarks can extend to phrases and slogans when the words become brand identifiers. Some phrases that have been trademarked are famed boxing announcer Michael Buffer's "Let's get ready to rumble!" and reality television star Paris Hilton's "That's hot."

Non-use or lapsed filings can cause a trademark to expire

Going more than three consecutive years without using a trademark can be considered abandonment—which means the trademark falls into the public domain and someone else could potentially file for the trademark. Besides non-use, not maintaining the paperwork or paying the fees can result in a terminated trademark.

Breaking down the main classes of intellectual property: trademark vs. copyright vs. patent

Trademarks, copyrights, and patents are all intellectual property classifications that give exclusive ownership of ideas and concepts to individuals or businesses. Patents usually refer to innovative products or processes, copyrights are centered around the right to reproduce content, and trademarks usually involve branding elements, like names, logos, and distinct product elements.

Taylor Swift owns more than 300 trademarks—a strategic way she protects her brand

Taylor Swift holds trademarks ranging from her album titles and song lyrics to the names of her cats. While the sheer amount of trademarks may seem excessive, it's one way Taylor Swift can protect the integrity of her brand and make sure everything that's branded as Taylor Swift actually comes from her.

Frisbee, Jet Ski, and Dumpster—explore a list of words you might not realize are trademarked

Many products that have become household names started out as first-of-a-kind items. As those products grew in popularity, the brand name became the default name for the product.

'Genericide:' Learn how too much brand awareness can hurt a company's trademark

When a brand becomes so popular that consumers regularly call the product by the brand name like a noun or verb, that trademark becomes generic because consumers no longer associate a specific brand with a certain product. A generic product can hurt a company's right to trademark or even cause companies to lose it. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Find 36 hidden messages in these household name company logos

Read about the time Apple tried to trademark an actual apple in Switzerland

In 2017, tech company Apple filed for the trademark to a black-and-white image of a Granny Smith apple in Switzerland—a request that was only partially granted. Apple wanted full control over the image, but many worried that granting the trademark would open up too many opportunities for the company to own the rights to the mere shape of an apple.

These famous brands used to have different names

Did you know that Nike used to be called Blue Ribbon Sports? Or that Google was originally named BackRub? Getting a brand's name right is a tough job; there's an entire cottage industry of brand naming agencies to prove it. See which brands got it right the first time—and which ones might be better off with their current names—in this article.

TikTok's 'sonic logo' imprints the app's identity across platforms

As the app's popular videos spread to other platforms like Instagram and Reddit, the company sought a way to alert viewers that the content originated on TikTok. They decided on the sonic logo that now acts as a bumper on all of its shared videos, to attract users.

USP-verified label on supplements means a nonprofit confirmed what's in the bottle

The black-and-yellow USP-verified program seal on a dietary supplement bottle means that the nonprofit US Pharmacopeia tested a sample of the product and verified that it was made in a facility with good manufacturing practices and that it will dissolve in the body. Their certification also means they tested to confirm that the product contains the ingredients listed on the bottle at the specified levels, and that it doesn't contain harmful levels of certain dangerous contaminants.

The original Mickey Mouse's copyright has expired, but Disney still owns the trademark

In 2024, "Steamboat Willie"—the 1928 Walt Disney animation with the first depiction of Mickey Mouse—entered the public domain. While anyone is free to build on the original characters and storyline of "Steamboat Willie," Disney still owns the trademark for Mickey Mouse, so any branding with the character's depiction that appears to be from Disney is off-limits.

Nike is one of the world's most recognizable brands, partly due to its 'swoosh' logo.

Some ads help create ‘symbolic value’ for products

A Rolex watch and a watch from the Dollar Store serve the same purpose: helping the wearer tell the time. But a Rolex is worth thousands of dollars while the Dollar Store watch is costs $1 because of symbolic value, or what the watch says about its wearer. This article helps break down the difference between the two.

Read the Federal Trade Commission's legal definition of a monopoly

The Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division are the regulatory agencies responsible for overseeing antitrust laws. Before deeming any company a monopoly or acknowledging monopolistic power in a market, the FTC conducts thorough research into market competition, price, and even other competitors' business practices.

US federal law dictates that all ads must not be deceptive

It also dictates that all ads must be “not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence.” However, enforcing these laws can be difficult given the massive number of ads that run all over America each day. This explainer on the subject from the FTC provides more information.

See a ranking of the world's most valuable brands

Evaluating a brand's value involves evaluating investments in marketing, the strength of the brand, and even the company's performance. Technology companies represent most of the global economy's brand value. As of 2026, Apple has the most valuable brand in the world at $608B.

The 7-Eleven logo intentionally uses a lowercase 'n', something the company president's wife said made it look friendlier.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 filings can impact common stockholders

Publicly traded companies don’t file for bankruptcy out of nowhere—there are typically warning signs in a stock’s performance, quarterly earnings calls, and US Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

‘Mint marks’ are tiny letters on US coins that correspond to which mint location created them

As more mint branches opened up after Philadelphia (the first mint location), these “mint marks” helped hold each branch responsible for the quality of the coin. A coin minted in Philadelphia, for instance, would have the letter “P” on it. Some mint marks are extremely rare, making coins displaying them particularly valuable to collectors.

Company names you may have been mispronouncing

Global company names often get Americanized or anglicized to the point where they’re unrecognizable. Here's a helpful explainer on how to say a dozen of them, from Adidas to Huawei.

X's bird logo cost just $15 and wasn't added until four years after launch

When Twitter launched in 2006, it featured green, slimy lettering and lacked the now-famous bird icon. The bird was adopted in 2010 and eventually became the platform's official logo—unofficially named Larry after NBA legend Larry Bird.

The US protects free speech more broadly than any other democracy

Well-known First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams explains that the US offers stronger free-speech protections than even close democratic allies, where hate speech is criminalized, libel laws favor plaintiffs, and a "right to be forgotten" can erase truthful information from the internet.

Steve Jobs introduced Apple’s 'Think Different' marketing campaign

Jobs introduced the now-iconic “Think Different” marketing campaign. It won numerous awards, symbolized Apple’s new era under Jobs, and showed off his understanding of branding.

Bluetooth, the technology that connects nearby devices via radio waves, is named after King Harald 'Bluetooth' Gormsson, who united Denmark and Norway in the 10th century.

Not all speech in the United States is protected

This page explains the categories of speech—including defamation, incitement, true threats, fraud, and obscenity—the Supreme Court has placed outside First Amendment protection and how courts determine which standard to apply when speech is challenged.

Patents arguably grant inventors monopolies for a short period of time

As a way to reward innovation, the government grants short-term monopolies on patented products. Patents block other companies from producing or selling that product, giving inventors the rights and opportunity to establish themselves in a market before other competitors enter.

Visualizing the symbols and history of world flags

More than 200 world flags feature high-intent designs, projecting ideals and values to the world through archetypal symbols, colors, and shapes. This page effectively depicts the data behind symbol and shape usage, how much each country's flag has changed over time, the most popular colors used, and more in a series of elegantly simple charts.

Streaming service Netflix's sound logo 'Tudum' was designed as a key sonic differentiator.

Are emojis real communication? And other questions for the experts

Emojis took off around 2009, after Apple's operating system for its defining iPhone became available in Japan. By 2012, a standardized set of emojis was released, and now seven in ten users feel a message without one of the 3,664 official emojis is lacking.

Learn how the US tax code works and why it's important

First published in 1926, the US Code is the official codification of federal statutes in the US. Title 26 of the US Code, for instance, lists all of the federal tax laws of the United States. A new edition is published every six years.

Today, in the US, people can face years in prison for counterfeiting money

There are both federal and state laws that punish people who use or create counterfeit money. The crime can not only trigger hefty fines, but could also lead to decades behind bars.

NFTs have been leveraged by brands to represent physical and digital items

The buzz around non-fungible tokens has faded since 2021 to 2022, when brands including Prada and Starbucks launched their own NFTs. While Prada’s NFTs were linked to limited-edition fashion items, Starbucks’ were part of a loyalty program.

The US has 575 federally recognized tribal nations, each a sovereign government.

The US Constitution grants protection for satire

The First Amendment protects satire, though it does not protect defamation. The key distinction is that satire—evident by its hyperbolic language and comedic portraits—is not intended to be believed, even if it's being malicious.

The man who created the slogan 'Ithaca Is Gorges' never trademarked it, viewing it instead as a gift to his hometown.

Tariffs are taxes levied on goods imported from abroad.

In the US, 'organic food' is defined by the USDA

Food products can only be classified as “organic” if they meet the standards defined by the US Department of Agriculture. For crops, that means avoiding prohibited substances and genetic engineering, among other requirements. For livestock, that includes a minimum number of grazing days.