You have just finalized a logo and a product name, and you are about to put them on a website, packaging, and social media. Then you notice that some brands show a small ™ beside their name, others use ®, and creative work often carries ©. A natural question follows: which trademark symbol are you actually allowed to use, and does it matter if you skip them entirely? The short answer is that each symbol means something specific, the rules in Canada are not identical to the ones you may have read about in the United States, and using the wrong one can send a message you did not intend.
This guide explains what ™, ®, and © each signal, which you can use and when, and why Canadian law treats marking as optional rather than mandatory.
What do the ™, ®, and © symbols mean?
The ™, ®, and © symbols each identify a different kind of right. ™ and ® both relate to trademarks, which protect brand identifiers such as names, logos, and slogans. ® indicates a trademark that has been registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO); ™ indicates a mark the owner treats as a trademark but that is not (or not yet) registered. © relates to copyright, which protects original creative works such as writing, art, photography, music, and software code, and is a separate system from trademarks.
Here is the distinction at a glance:
| Symbol | Stands for | What it signals | When it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| ™ | Trademark | A mark used as a brand, registered or not | Any mark you are claiming as a trademark |
| ® | Registered trademark | The mark is registered with CIPO | Only after CIPO registers the mark |
| © | Copyright | A claim of copyright in a creative work | Original works, automatically on creation |
A point that trips up many founders: the ™ and ® symbols are not interchangeable shorthand for "this is important to me." They communicate the legal status of a mark, and ® in particular makes a specific factual claim that the mark is on the trademark register.
Can I use the ® symbol before my trademark is registered in Canada?
You should not use the ® symbol until CIPO has actually registered the mark. The ® symbol indicates a registered trademark, so applying it to a mark that is still pending, or that you have not applied to register at all, claims a status the mark does not have. The convention in Canada, and CIPO's own description of the symbol, ties ® to marks that are registered.
There is a practical risk behind the convention. A representation to the public that is false or misleading in a material respect, made to promote a product or a business interest, can attract liability under Canada's Competition Act. The Act contains a criminal provision (section 52) and a civil provision (paragraph 74.01(1)(a)) addressing false or misleading representations. Telling the market that a mark is a registered trademark when it is not could, depending on the circumstances, fall within that general prohibition. This is not a trademark-specific marking rule, and whether any particular use crosses the line is fact-dependent, but the cautious and accurate practice is simple: use ® only once the registration certificate has issued.
Until that point, ™ is the appropriate symbol. It signals that you are using the name or logo as a trademark and claiming rights in it, without asserting that the mark is registered.
Is using a trademark symbol required in Canada?
No. Marking a trademark with any symbol is optional in Canada. CIPO's trademarks guide states that "there is no legal requirement to mark your trademark with any particular symbol," and notes that owners nonetheless use symbols such as ® and ™ to show a mark's status. Your trademark rights, whether they come from registration or from use in the marketplace, do not depend on displaying a symbol.
That said, marking serves useful purposes even though it is not mandatory. Using ™ or ® puts competitors and the public on notice that you regard the name or logo as a brand you intend to protect, which can support the goodwill and reputation that underpin trademark rights. Many businesses adopt a consistent marking practice for that reason. The choice is yours, and skipping symbols does not forfeit any rights.
™ versus ®: which symbol should you use?
Use ™ for a mark you have not registered, and switch to ® once CIPO registers it. The deciding factor is the mark's registration status, not how established or valuable the brand is. A well-known unregistered brand still uses ™, and a newly registered mark can use ® the day its certificate issues.
A few practical scenarios help locate the line:
- You have launched a product under a new name but have not filed a trademark application: use ™.
- You have filed an application that is still pending examination or advertisement at CIPO: continue to use ™, not ®, because the mark is not yet registered.
- CIPO has registered your mark and issued a certificate: you may now use ®.
- You use a name only in casual or internal contexts and do not treat it as a brand: no symbol is needed at all.
In Canada, ™ covers marks used in association with goods or with services. The separate "service mark" symbol (SM) sometimes seen in the United States is not part of standard Canadian practice, because the Trademarks Act treats a single category of "trademark" that can apply to goods, services, or both. One symbol, ™, does the job for unregistered marks of either kind.
What does the © symbol mean, and how is it different?
The © symbol relates to copyright, which is a different right from a trademark. Copyright protects original creative works: literary works such as articles and code, artistic works such as logos and photographs, musical works, and dramatic works. A trademark, by contrast, protects identifiers that distinguish the source of goods or services. The two can overlap, which is one reason the symbols are easy to confuse. A logo, for example, can be an original artistic work protected by copyright and also function as a trademark that identifies your business.
In Canada, copyright arises automatically the moment an original work is created and fixed in some material form. You do not need to register, and you do not need to display the © symbol, to hold copyright. Using © followed by the year and the owner's name is a common notice practice that signals a claim of copyright, but it is not a precondition to protection. Registration with CIPO is optional and inexpensive, costing $63 for an online application as of June 2026; it produces a certificate that serves as evidence of ownership if a dispute arises. For a fuller comparison of how these two rights work together, see Clearview's guide to copyright versus trademark in Canada.
Copyright also lasts far longer than most people expect. Since December 30, 2022, the general term of copyright in Canada is the life of the author plus 70 years following the end of the year of death, reflecting a change made under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. That is a different timeline from a trademark registration, which lasts 10 years in Canada and can be renewed indefinitely while the mark stays in use.
The French equivalents: MC and MD
Canada is officially bilingual, and the trademark symbols have French-language counterparts. MC stands for "marque de commerce" and corresponds to ™, the symbol for an unregistered mark. MD stands for "marque déposée" and corresponds to ®, the symbol for a registered mark. Businesses operating in French-language markets, including Quebec, sometimes use MC and MD in place of the English symbols. The legal meaning is the same: MD, like ®, should be used only once the mark is registered, while MC, like ™, can be used for an unregistered mark.
A common point of confusion: Canada is not the United States
A common assumption, often carried over from US-focused guidance, is that failing to mark a registered trademark with ® will cost you money or remedies. Under United States law, a registered-mark owner who does not display a registration notice can be limited in recovering certain damages unless the infringer had actual notice. Canada has no equivalent marking-notice rule, so the failure to use ® on a registered Canadian mark does not, by itself, reduce the remedies available here.
The flip side is also worth stating plainly. Some guides describe a US-style "false marking" offence for improper use of trademark symbols. Canada does not have a trademark-specific false-marking statute of that kind. The real constraint in Canada is the general prohibition on false or misleading representations discussed above, which is why the accurate practice, rather than fear of a specific marking penalty, is the right reason to reserve ® for registered marks. Importing the US framework wholesale, in either direction, leads to the wrong conclusion.
There is one Canadian wrinkle worth knowing if you license your brand. The Trademarks Act addresses public notice of licensed use, and giving proper notice that a mark is used under licence can support the presumption that the owner controls the character or quality of the licensed goods or services. That control matters to keeping a mark distinctive. If you license your trademark to others, the marking and notice practices you adopt are worth setting up deliberately rather than by default.
When the symbol question signals a bigger decision
For many businesses, the question "which symbol can I use?" is really the entry point to a larger one: should the brand be registered at all? ™ is available immediately and costs nothing, but it only signals a claim. ® reflects a registered right, which in Canada provides exclusive rights to use the mark across the country in association with the registered goods and services, along with stronger and clearer enforcement options. Reaching the point where you can legitimately display ® means filing and prosecuting an application through CIPO.
Registration carries government fees, which are set by CIPO and not by any law firm. As of January 2026, CIPO's filing fee is approximately $491.06 for the first class of goods or services and approximately $149.04 for each additional class. Those figures are adjusted periodically, so they should be reconfirmed against CIPO at the time of filing. For a step-by-step walkthrough of the process, Clearview's guide on how to register a trademark in Canada covers what each stage involves, and the broader trademark basics in Canada explains how registered and unregistered rights compare.
Choosing and using the right symbol is a small but visible signal of how seriously a business takes its brand. ™ is a fair claim to make from day one. ® is a statement of fact that the mark is registered, and it should wait until that is true.
If you are deciding whether to register a mark, or you want to use ® accurately on a brand you are building, contact Clearview to discuss trademark registration and the right protection strategy for your business.