We see them everywhere, on soft drinks and cereal boxes, in music videos and banking apps: ™, ®, © and more. But what are they, and what do they actually mean? Intellectual property (IP) symbols crop up so often in adverts and on packaging that most of us barely take notice of their legal significance. But if you’re a business, failing to understand their importance can be an expensive mistake or a humbling missed opportunity.
Picking the right IP symbol
Some of the most prominent IP symbols seen on products, company signage and on marketing materials include:
