Can I use the ® symbol on my logo now, and where should it be placed? Is there any official guidance?

Creating a business is not an easy job. From sketching out the business plan to choosing the name and logo, the whole process requires a lot of time and effort as nobody would want this amount of planning to go to waste. This is why business owners shouldn’t brush over one of the most important steps in the process of establishing their company – registering a trademark.

This case study focuses on the battle fought by Adidas to protect its mark in the form of three stripes, exploring the implications of the historical as well as more recent decisions of the court.

One of the most common reasons for trademark disputes has to do with the perceived similarity between existing trademarks. The two trademarks are considered “similar” if they share common characteristics connected to their appearance, sound, meaning and commercial impression, and if they are used for related goods or services. This is seen as a problem from brand perspective because the consumers might believe that the owners of the two trademarks are related, affiliated, connected, or that the goods or services originate from the same source.