When you think of legal symbols, you might initially think of the scales of justice or a gavel, but the symbols I’m going to tell you about have more to do with legal writing. In the legal profession there are several symbols that would be very helpful for you be able to use effectively.
They include:
§ Section
© Copyright
® Registered
™ Trademark
§ – The section symbol is used when referring to a certain specific area of a document or legal code (i.e. §137). To use the plural “sections,” just duplicate the section symbol (i.e. §§). This is how you create a section symbol:
Alt + 0167 = §
© – The copyright symbol is used to show ownership of intellectual property such as artistic and literary works. Normally the copyright symbol is placed next to the year that the particular work was copyrighted (i.e. ©2011). This is how you create a copyright symbol:
Alt + 0169 = ©
® – The registered symbol basically notates the legal registration and protection of a unique product line, brand, or company (i.e. NIKE®). It is used in place of the trademark symbol or in combination with the trademark symbol. It can only be used after the government grants a Federal registration certificate. This is how you create a registered symbol:
Alt + 0174 = ®
™ – The Trademark symbol also is used to protect a unique product line, brand, or company in place or in conjunction with a registration symbol. This symbol can be used without any special permission from the government. Trademarks put competitors on notice as to what they consider their intellectual property (i.e. Whopper™). This is how you create a trademark symbol:
Alt + 0153 = ™
I hope these tips enable you to use these symbols more quickly & effectively.
~ Brian Trippodo ~
