{"id":36090,"date":"2023-05-10T09:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T07:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/?p=36090"},"modified":"2025-05-19T09:16:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T07:16:00","slug":"copyright-sign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/copyright-sign\/","title":{"rendered":"Copyright sign, Trademark and Registered Trademark in use"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The copyright sign does not automatically create copyright. We explain what the copyright sign, trademark and registered trademark mean and show how they are used in a typographic context.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Symbols for copyright such as the copyright signs \u00a9 and \u2117, but also the signs for trademark law such as \u00ae and \u2122 originate from the Anglo-American legal system. Under German law, they partly have no meaning and are <strong>only used for marketing purposes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Copyright sign &#8211; a sign for copyright<\/h2>\n<p>The copyright sign is the c in a circle \u00a9. It is used in copyright law to identify a work such as a photograph, music or a website. The sign originated in the United States, but lost its legal necessity there about 30 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>In Germany, the copyright sign is used to identify works protected by copyright, but under German law its use has no significance for copyright protection. The author is not obliged to mark his trademark application. So anyone who thinks they are protecting their website with a copyright sign is mistaken. And anyone who does not add the \u00a9 to his copyrighted image still retains his copyright. The work is protected by copyright the moment it is created.<\/p>\n<p>In practice, however, it makes sense to add the copyright sign to one&#8217;s works, such as one&#8217;s own photograph. Because in the event of a dispute, the author does not have to laboriously prove that the idea robber could have known this.<\/p>\n<h3>Writing order<\/h3>\n<p>We recommend this order:<\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-background-grey\">\n<p><strong>\u00a9 2022 | Marie Musterwiese | Berlin<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Since the C stands for the word copyright, one should refrain from using a spelling like the following:<\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-background-grey\">\n<p><del><strong>Copyright \u00a9 Marie Musterwiese<\/strong> <\/del><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Also, superscripting the \u00a9 is not correct. In some fonts, it is basically slightly off-centre at the top. The character is separated from the following text, usually the year, with a (protected) word space.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-36093 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schreibregel_Copyright_1.jpg\" alt=\"Text in green reads the copyright sign \u00a9 2022 | Susewind on a white background.\" width=\"287\" height=\"53\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Keyboard layout<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Copyright \u00a9 for Mac: <\/strong>Key combination <span class=\"guideline\">Dial + G<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Copyright \u00a9 for Windows: <\/strong>key combination <span class=\"guideline\">Alt + 0169<\/span> or <span class=\"guideline\">Unicode U + 00A9<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h2>Sound Recording Copyright sign or Phonogram<\/h2>\n<p>.<br \/>\nThe Sound Recording Copyright represents the copyright symbol for sound recordings or phonograms. It is represented by a P in a circle, which stands for Phonogram. Strictly speaking, phonographic rights include the rights to sound and video recordings and to sound and video carriers. It is used to designate the rights to one&#8217;s audio recordings. Musical copyright consists of several components and is complex; anyone who wants to be safe on the road here should consider legal advice.<\/p>\n<h3>Writing<\/h3>\n<p>Copyright for sound recordings is not included in every writing. It is placed &#8211; if present &#8211; directly after the last character. If it is relatively large, half a word space can also be placed in between.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-36096 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schreibregel_Copyright_4.jpg\" alt=\"The word bluesong in green lowercase letters, followed by a green circle with the letter P inside and a subtle copyright sign.\" width=\"210\" height=\"54\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Keyboard layout<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Phonogram \u2117 for Windows: <\/strong>key combination <span class=\"guideline\">Unicode U + 2117<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h2>Registered Trademark &#8211; the registered trademark<\/h2>\n<p>The R sign, i.e. the <strong>\u00ae<\/strong> symbol, is a capital R in a circle. It also originates from the trademark law of the USA and is intended to show that it is a registered trademark. In this context, the trade mark may not only be applied for, but must also be entered in the trade mark register.<\/p>\n<p>In German trade mark law, it is permitted, but not mandatory, to affix the R mark to a registered trade mark. The reasons for using it are therefore not legal, but rather lie in advertising and external impact. By using the \u00ae you want to deter imitators and give your product a certain uniqueness. Make sure that you only use the Registered trademark for products or services for which the trademark is also registered. Otherwise, you may be accused of violating the Unfair Competition Act.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-36095 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schreibregel_Copyright_3.jpg\" alt=\"The word Hexenhausen is written in green serif font, followed by a registered trademark symbol and a copyright sign. The background is plain white.\" width=\"238\" height=\"55\" \/><\/h2>\n<h3>Keyboard layout<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Registered \u00ae for Mac: <\/strong>Key combination <span class=\"guideline\">Alt + R<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Registered \u00ae for Windows: <\/strong>key combination <span class=\"guideline\">Alt + 0174<\/span> or <span class=\"guideline\">Unicode U + 00AE<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h2>Trademark &#8211; the sign for trademark<\/h2>\n<p>One legal step ahead of the \u00ae is the TM mark, pronounced Trademark, the sign for which is <strong>\u2122<\/strong>. In American law, this is used to mark products or services that have already been registered as a trademark but have not yet been entered in the official register. In principle, caution must be exercised when using the TM mark. German jurisdictions have ruled differently on the use and also on the alleged misleading nature of the TM mark in recent years.<\/p>\n<h3>Spelling<\/h3>\n<p>The \u2122 and also the \u00ae are superscripted, reduced in size and placed after the last character without spacing. As a rule, the character size is 50-60 per cent of the font size. Depending on the font and the font size, it is advisable to adjust the size and position of the characters so that they remain recognisable on the one hand, but do not become too dominant visually on the other.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-36094 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schreibregel_Copyright_2.jpg\" alt=\"The image displays the word Kunterbunt\u2122 with a copyright sign, in green serif font on a white background.\" width=\"236\" height=\"61\" \/><\/h2>\n<h3>Keyboard layout<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Trademark \u2122 for Mac: <\/strong>key combination <span class=\"guideline\">Alt + Shift + D<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trademark \u2122 for Windows: <\/strong>key combination <span class=\"guideline\">Alt + 0153<\/span> or <span class=\"guideline\">Unicode U + 2122<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h2>Font variations<\/h2>\n<p>Depending on the font chosen, the size as well as the y-placement of copyright signs and co. may vary. In any case, you should make sure that the characters can be recognised even in small sizes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-36097 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schreibregel_Copyright_5.jpg\" alt=\"Text samples in three fonts\u2014Fira Sans, Gentium, and Arial\u2014showing the copyright sign, year 2022, \u201cSuse,\u201d the words \u201cFirma\u201d with trademark and registered symbols, and \u201cbluesong\u201d featuring a copyright sign in Arial only.\" width=\"832\" height=\"306\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-background-grey\">\n<p><strong>Image source:<\/strong> Bored Photography via Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We explain what copyright signs and co. mean and show how to use them correctly in a typographic context.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":39478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Copyright signs and more: What \u00a9, \u2122 and \u00ae mean<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The copyright sign does not automatically create copyright. We clarify the signs for Copyright, Trademark and Registered Trademark.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/copyright-sign\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Copyright sign, Trademark and Registered Trademark in use\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The copyright sign does not automatically create copyright. 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