Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trademarks

This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Use common sense in applying it; it will have occasional exceptions. Please ensure that any edits to this page reflect consensus.

Shortcuts: WP:MOSTM MOS:TM

This page in a nutshell: Follow standard English text formatting and capitalization rules, regardless of the preference of trademark owners.

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Trademarks include words and short phrases used by organizations to identify themselves and their products and services. Often, these names are written in several different ways with variations in capitalization, punctuation, and formatting.

When deciding how to format a trademark, editors should choose among styles already in use (not invent new ones) and choose the style that most closely resembles standard English, regardless of the preference of the trademark owner. This practice helps ensure consistency in language and avoids drawing undue attention to some subjects rather than others. Listed below are more specific recommendations for frequently occurring nonstandard formats.

General rules

• Capitalize trademarks, as with proper names.
• Don't expect readers to know, based on trademarks or brand names, what item is being discussed. For example:
  • avoid: Police in Miami confiscated 25 stolen Rolexes.
  • instead, use: Police in Miami confiscated 25 stolen Rolex watches.
  • however: The prime minister indicated that the Cadbury Creme Egg was delicious. (This is allowed because the product name includes the product type.)
• Follow standard English text formatting and capitalization rules, even if the trademark owner considers nonstandard formatting "official":
  • avoid: REALTOR®, TIME, KISS
  • instead, use: Realtor, Time, Kiss
• Using all caps is preferred if the letters are pronounced individually, even if they don't stand for anything. For instance, use SAT for the (U.S.) standardized test.
• Do not use the ™ and ® symbols, or similar, in either article text or citations, unless unavoidably necessary for context (for instance, to distinguish between generic and brand names for drugs).
• Avoid using special characters that are not pronounced, are included purely for decoration, or simply substitute for English words (e.g., ♥ used for "love"). In the article about a trademark, it is acceptable to use decorative characters the first time the trademark appears, but thereafter, an alternative that follows the standard rules of punctuation should be used:
  • avoid: Macy*s, skate., [ yellow tail ], Se7en, Alien³, Toys Я Us
  • instead, use: Macy's, Skate, Yellow Tail, Seven, Alien 3, Toys "R" Us
• Trademarks in CamelCase are a judgment call. CamelCase may be used where it reflects general usage and makes the trademark more readable.
  • OxyContin or Oxycontin—editor's choice

Trademarks that begin with a lowercase letter

Trademarks that officially begin with a lowercase letter raise several problems because they break the normal capitalization rules of English that trademarks, as proper nouns, are written with initial capital letters wherever they occur in a sentence.

• Trademarks rendered without any capitals are always capitalized:
  • avoid: thirtysomething is a television show that may have been sponsored by adidas, but not by craigslist, because the show was over before craigslist existed.
  • instead, use: Thirtysomething is a television show that may have been sponsored by Adidas, but not by Craigslist, because the show was over before Craigslist existed.
• Trademarks beginning with a one-letter lowercase prefix pronounced as a separate letter do not need to be capitalized if the second letter is capitalized, but should otherwise follow normal capitalization rules:
  • avoid: EBay is where he bought his IPod.
  • instead, use: eBay is where he bought his iPod.
• But, if possible, rephrase to avoid beginning sentences with such trademarks:
  • He bought his iPod on eBay.

Use of graphic logos

See also: Wikipedia:Logos

Product logos and corporate logos, such as the stylized rendition of the word Dell used by Dell Inc., whether copyrighted or not, may be used once in the infobox or corner of articles about the related product, service, company, or entity.

Many companies claim copyright over their logos, though their use in an encyclopedia article may be considered fair use. Please tag logo images with {{non-free logo}}. Some logos are free content because they are in the public domain or are under a free license: for example, logos consisting of short text may not be eligible for copyright protection, and old logos that were published without a copyright notice have likely fallen into the public domain. When this is definitely the case, the {{trademark}} tag may be used instead. However, when in doubt err on the side of caution per non-free content policy by assuming that the logo is copyrighted.

Distinguish clearly between the trademark and the company name when, as with Dell, it is customary to do so. Company names should normally be given in the most common form in English; only specify International Business Machines Corporation to state that that is the legal name, otherwise call it IBM, as our sources do.

See also

• Wikipedia:Manual of Style (capital letters)
• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (common names)