The differences between tm and r in the upper right corner of the trademark are:
First, r means registered and is exclusive to the owner of the registered trademark. TM stated that the trademark has been applied to the National Trademark Office, and the Trademark Office has issued an acceptance notice to prevent repeated applications.
Second, r is protected by law. No enterprise or individual may use the trademark without the authorization of the trademark holder, otherwise they will bear legal liability. tm means that the trademark holder has priority to use it.
Consequences of incorrect use of the R trademark
If the trademark is not approved for registration and is marked without authorization, the following consequences will occur:
1. When an unregistered trademark is used, adding a registration mark or labeling it as a "registered trademark" deceives consumers and damages the order of trademark management. It is regarded as an illegal act of passing off a registered trademark and is subject to supervision by the industrial and commercial department.
The industrial and commercial department may stop the violation in accordance with Article 52 of the Trademark Law, make corrections within a time limit, and may issue a notice; if the illegal business volume exceeds 50,000 yuan, a fine of less than 20% of the illegal business volume may be imposed If there is no illegal business volume or the illegal business volume is less than 50,000 yuan, a fine of not more than 10,000 yuan may be imposed.
2. When using an unregistered trademark, adding a registered mark may also infringe on other people’s trademark rights or other prior rights, such as copyright or corporate name rights, etc., which means you may be sued for infringement.
The essence of a trademark is to distinguish the source of goods or services. Trademark registration marks can serve as a warning, informing others that this is a registered trademark and obtain legal protection. If you add the mark without authorization, you may be liable. Complaints of copyright infringement were made by interested parties.