TRADEMARKS

In editorial copy a reasonable effort should be made to respect trademarks of other organizations just as we expect them to respect ours. Use a generic description when you are not certain of the brand or if using a trademark is not crucial to the sense. The trademark symbols ® or TM are not usually used in editorial text. 

To determine if a word is a trademark or not, follow entries in this manual, Webster’s, and trademark directories online.

Use an initial capital and roman type for registered or trademarked products:

            Band-Aid, Jet Ski, Styrofoam, Visa, Yellow Border

A written description of a logo may be written with initial caps to distinguish it:

            Yellow Border, Golden Arches, Swoosh.

It is not necessary to follow stylistic treatment of a trademark, although internal capital letters are usually retained:

            Visa, not VISA               Ikea, not IKEA

            Lego, not LEGO            Aibo, not AIBO

            Adidas not adidas

            Traffic, not TRAFFIC (for the group working to stop illegal wildlife trade)

            eBay, not ebay

 but    ReCork, not ReCORK

            WeWork, not wework

An ® after the name of an item or product, such as Macintosh® computer, denotes a registered trademark. But do not use that in editorial text. 

A TM designation indicates that application has been made to register a mark.

For use of the marks in other cases, consult our legal office and any licensing agreement that may apply.

See also COMPANY NAMES entry