Trademark symbol (™) in HTML
The trademark symbol claims a mark that is in use but not necessarily registered. Its named reference is ™ and its code point is U+2122.
At a glance
- Character
- ™
- Named entity
- ™
- Decimal reference
- ™
- Hex reference
- ™
- Unicode code point
- U+2122
- Unicode name
- TRADE MARK SIGN
- In the entity reference
- Symbols, and pinned in quick access
In detail
The trademark symbol asserts that you are using a word or logo as a mark and claiming rights in it. Unlike the registered sign it requires no registration, which is why it is the right choice for a product name that is new, for a mark whose application is pending, and for territories where you have use but no registration.
In Unicode this is a compatibility character. Its normalisation decomposition is the two letters T and M, which means a search index applying compatibility normalisation will treat the symbol and the letters TM as equivalent. That is usually helpful and occasionally surprising: a product name search can match text that never contained the symbol at all.
There is a matching character for services rather than goods, the service mark at U+2120. It has no named HTML entity and it is not in the entity reference tool's list, so it must be written numerically. In practice most sites use the trademark symbol for both, which is common but not strictly correct where the distinction is recognised.
Placement follows the mark with no space, and the same first mention convention applies as with the registered sign. Sprinkling it through body copy is the surest way to make a page look like a legal notice rather than a product description, and it does nothing extra for the claim.
Examples
<h1>QuickPack™</h1>
<p>QuickPack compresses a folder in one pass.</p><p>NightDesk℠ overnight support</p>
<p>NightDesk℠ overnight support</p>Things that catch people out
- Typing the three characters TM in superscript is not the symbol. It will not match a search for the character and it will not normalise consistently.
- The symbol does not create rights on its own; it signals a claim. Do not use it as a substitute for actually registering a mark you intend to defend.
- Some typefaces draw it at nearly full cap height, which makes a heading look broken. Test the character in the display font, not just the body font.
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Related HTML entities
All html entities →Registered sign (®) in HTML
The registered trade mark sign at U+00AE, its entity forms, the difference between it and the trademark symbol, and the rule about which marks may carry it.
Copyright symbol (©) in HTML
The copyright sign at U+00A9 with its named, decimal and hex references, what a copyright notice actually does, and why (c) in brackets is not a substitute.
Superscript one, two and three in HTML
The superscript digit characters at U+00B9, U+00B2 and U+00B3, their entity forms, the rest of the superscript block, and when the sup element is better.
Micro sign (µ) in HTML
The micro sign at U+00B5 and the Greek small mu at U+03BC look identical and are different code points. Which one to use for units, and how to normalise them.
Check mark and cross mark characters in HTML
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Star symbols in HTML: filled and outlined
The black and white star characters, their numeric references, how to build an accessible star rating, and why half stars need clipping rather than a glyph.
Tools for this
- HTML Entity Reference Free online HTML entity reference - search and copy HTML entities with live preview
- HTML Entity Encoder Free online HTML entity encoder - encode or decode HTML entities to prevent XSS and display issues