™ or ®

I am working on new script which symbol should I use ™ or ®?

 

For what? To claim the script is yours?

 

for the name of the script.. not the script itself

 

I dont understand.

Does the script or the name have a registered trademark?

 

I am not sure, but I saw some scripts have ™ and some have ®.
I don't know the difference?

 

If this is a script that you have created along with the name and it doesnt have a registered trademark against it then its pretty useless in using those symbols.

 

You can use neither one of them before you file for the trademark registration.

 

You can use either, but if you do not file for the registration or the trademark, it means nothing. If you do file and do not defend your registration; it means even less

 

Exactly. Defending a TM is costly. You need to hire a company like Mark Monitor to constantly monitor any infringment and go after them. If it's a script, I think patent makes more sense than TM.
At least, put a "copyright by blahblah 2007. all rights reserved." on it.

 

He said its just the name, so trademarking it makes the most sense. I don't think a patent would ever get accepted. Patents are more for the logic and method behind something, not lines of code, right?

 

You can use â„¢ to show you consider such work as your property, your trademark. This allows you some power in a court of law.

You can not use ® unless you have filed for a trademark and the trademark has been allowed to be registered. ® stands for Registered Trademark.

 

That's correct.

 

Here's a good related story from today actually!

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/10/D8MIN5CO0.html

Trademarks only work if you defend them. Cisco's defense could cost them millions.

I was almost in a trademark dispute myself. A lawyer told me, that if it went to court, the minimum defense would be $25,000.

 

That's right. All the TM/R does is allow you to defend your stuff. And you have to defend it or your mark gets weakened.