®
Registered trademark
The registered trademark symbol (®) is a legal notice indicating that a trademark has been officially registered with the relevant trademark office. It provides stronger legal protection than the unregistered trademark symbol (™) and can only be used after successful registration.
Technical Details
- ASCII Code
- 169
- HTML Entity
- ©
- Hexadecimal
- 0xA9
- Binary
- 10101001
- Octal
- 251
Usage & Examples
Programming
char symbol = '®'; // ASCII 169HTML/Web
© or ®Common Uses
How to Type This Character
Windows
Mac
💡 Pro tip: The fastest way is to bookmark this page or copy the character from our ASCII library!
Related Characters
About the Registered trademark
Legal Significance
The ® symbol can only be used legally after a trademark has been officially registered with a national trademark office such as the USPTO, EUIPO, or similar authorities. Unauthorized use of this symbol can result in legal penalties and is considered trademark fraud in many jurisdictions.
Modern Usage
Essential for brand protection in commercial contexts, the ® symbol serves as a deterrent to potential infringers and establishes legal notice of trademark rights. It's commonly seen on product names, logos, slogans, and brand identifiers across all industries.
Technical Details
The registered trademark symbol appears as ASCII code 174 in extended ASCII character sets, particularly in Windows-1252 encoding. In Unicode, it's represented as U+00AE. The symbol consists of the letter 'R' enclosed in a circle, distinguishing it from the unregistered trademark symbol ™.
Alternatives
When the ® symbol is unavailable, it's commonly represented as (R) in parentheses. However, this substitution should be temporary as the proper symbol carries more legal weight and professional appearance.
History of the Registered trademark
First U.S. Trademark Registration
The first trademark was registered in the United States under the Trademark Act of 1881. While the ® symbol wasn't immediately standardized, this established the legal framework that would eventually require distinguishing marks for registered trademarks.
Lanham Act Establishment
The Lanham Act (Trademark Act of 1946) created the modern U.S. trademark registration system and established legal requirements for trademark notices. This act formalized the distinction between registered and unregistered marks, leading to standardized use of the ® symbol.
International Nice Agreement
The Nice Agreement established an international classification system for trademarks, creating consistency across countries for trademark registration and notice requirements, including the standardized use of ® for registered marks.
ASCII Integration
IBM's Code Page 437 included the registered trademark symbol as character 174, making it accessible in computer systems and enabling its use in digital communications and early word processing software.
TRIPS Agreement
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) strengthened international trademark protection and standardized requirements for trademark notices, reinforcing the global importance of the ® symbol.
Internet Era Adoption
With the rise of e-commerce and digital marketing, the ® symbol became essential for online brand protection. Web browsers and HTML standards ensured proper display of the symbol across digital platforms.
Cultural Impact
The ® symbol has become synonymous with established brands and commercial success. It represents not just legal protection but also brand maturity and market presence. In consumer culture, the symbol often signifies quality, authenticity, and corporate legitimacy, making it a powerful tool for brand recognition and trust-building.
Usage Examples
Product Branding
ExampleUsed immediately after registered brand names and product names
Corporate Communications
ExampleFirst mention in documents, websites, and marketing materials
Legal Documentation
ExampleFormal legal notices and trademark statements
Digital Marketing
ExampleSocial media posts and digital advertising campaigns
Software/Web Development
ExampleTechnical implementation in web development
International Business
ExampleGlobal trademark protection across multiple jurisdictions