Intellectual Property Law

The Circle-R Symbol Must Be Earned; the Lanham Act Should Punish Misuse

By Michael Atkins

One example of many: The applied-for CarbonZero and Design
mark is unregistered but nonetheless displays the Circlce-R symbol.

The Circle-R symbol indicates that a mark is federally registered. It’s irksome when parties use it without having met the rigors needed for its lawful use. It’s even more irksome that the Lanham Act doesn’t penalize owners for displaying the symbol when they haven’t earned it. Imagine the PTO’s reaction when it got the drawing of this applied-for trademark design — sporting the Circle-R — falsely signaling it already has a federal registration. The PTO’s response? A mild office action directing that “Applicant must submit a new drawing with the ‘®’ deleted because it is not part of the mark.” What else could the PTO do? Ignorance is probably responsible for most misuse, but fraud is at the heart of some of it. I only wish the Lanham Act punished knowing misuse.

Full post as published by Seattle Trademark Lawyer on April 08, 2009 (boomark / email).