How to cite a trademark / application
Bluebook (22d ed.) citation format · B14 / T1.2 · Regulations & agencies
A registered mark is cited by name and registration number; an application filed but not approved takes a different head and its filing date.
Example
INTERNATIONAL WALKIE TALKIE, Registration No. 3,016,449.
More examples
Each of these is checked against the rules on every change to the tool.
- The mark consists of a stylized representation of a peacock, Registration No. 1,931,255.
- U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/341,910 (filed Dec. 1, 2007).
What the citation needs
Required
- Registration / serial number — The number that identifies the document in its series.
When they apply
- Trademark — The mark itself, or — where it is unnamed — the description filed with the Trademark Office.
- Filing date — Required for an application that has not been approved.
In a brief and in a law review
The Bluebook sets citations two ways: the Bluepages for court documents and legal memoranda, the Whitepages for law review footnotes. Here is the first example above as each one prints it, in its typeface.
Court documents (Bluepages)
INTERNATIONAL WALKIE TALKIE, Registration No. 3,016,449.
Law review footnotes (Whitepages)
INTERNATIONAL WALKIE TALKIE, Registration No. 3,016,449.
For this source the two are set the same way.
Governing rules
B14 / T1.2
- T1.2 — federal administrative and executive materials; the agency's own citation form governs where the table gives one.
Build this citation with the generator, check one you have already written, or paste a whole list of footnotes to check them in order.
Related source types
Regulations & agencies: