Commercial terms: brand names, ® symbol, ™ symbol 

Brand names

Avoid using brand names where possible. Use a generic word instead. For example, use:

• • paracetamol rather than Panadol

  • ibuprofen rather than Nurofen

  • fluoxetine rather than Prozac

  • tissue rather than Kleenex

  • adrenaline auto-injector rather than EpiPen 

  • adhesive dressing or sticky plaster rather than Bandaid

  • social stories rather than Social Stories.

If you can't avoid using brand names, present these names with an initial capital. Use lower case for generic names. 

Registered (®) symbol and trademark (™) symbol

It's usually not necessary to use the registered (®) symbol or the trademark (™) symbol in academic, scientific or general writing. These symbols are more likely to be required in commercial writing.