Where should I place the ® symbol?

Photo of Jan Buza

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

There are no exact rules on the placement of the ® symbol. For example, the USPTO advises putting it 'anywhere around the trademark'. Simply put, the mere usage of the character is more important than its placement, as any of the possible placements signals the same level of protection. Nevertheless, most trademark owners choose to put the symbol in superscript in the top right corner or subscript in the bottom right corner of the mark.

To give you a few examples:

  • Adidas, Apple or Domino's use the top-right placement in their logos.
  • Coca-Cola, McDonald's or Starbucks go for the bottom-right placement.
  • Holiday Inn uses the bottom-right placement for the H icon and the top-right placement for their other figurative mark that spells out 'Holiday Inn'.
  • 7-Eleven places the ® to the bottom right from the centre, but not outside of the logo as a whole. It's placed just below the last E.
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