Trademarks: Overview

We rely on the trustworthiness of Morningstar’s name to help us stand out in a crowded marketplace. Trademarks and service marks—or simply, “marks”—reinforce our brand reputation and enable clients to feel confident in choosing our products and services over those of our competitors. By reserving Morningstar’s legal rights to a specific word, phrase, symbol, or design, these marks also protect our brands and related assets from misappropriation by others.

Trademark and Service Mark Symbols

A trademark helps identify and distinguish the goods or services of one party from those of another. In the United States, Morningstar uses three different symbols to designate the legal status of a mark: trademark, service mark, and registered trademark.

A trademark, or ™ designator, is used to claim trademark rights in the name of a product or tangible good until such time as one chooses to register it with the applicable government.

A service mark, or ℠ designator, is used to claim service mark rights in the name of a service, including a service offered over the web, until such time as one chooses to register it with the applicable government.

The registered trademark, or ® designator, indicates that a product or service name has been formally registered with the applicable government. Trademark registrations are usually done on a country-by-country basis.

Note that most countries outside of the U.S. ignore the distinction between trademarks and service marks and just use the ™ designator for all unregistered marks.

For country-specific use cases, see the Registered Trademarks section.

Brand Assets and Marks

Our core brand assets include the Morningstar name, family brand names, the Morningstar logotype and lockups (combined wordmarks of Morningstar logotype and family brand names), as well as signature assets, like our Moat Ratings. Our regulated entity names and some offering names may also be treated as brand assets.

We distinguish between our use of Morningstar brand assets and their use by others, including partners, licensees, and media. See the Using marks for Morningstar brand assets by all third parties section.

Morningstar name, logotype, and lockups

Except in certain limited instances, the Morningstar brand name is a separate mark that is distinct from the names of products, features, and supporting elements. In the United States and most other jurisdictions in which Morningstar does business, the Morningstar brand name is a registered trademark.

Similarly, our logotype is typically a registered mark and the anchor of our visual identity, and it is part of our lockups, which are used for family brands only.

Family brand names

Our family brands are Morningstar Credit, Morningstar Data+Analytics, Morningstar ESG, Morningstar Indexes, Morningstar Retirement, and Morningstar Wealth.

Note that the family brands are not legal entities, and they should never be used instead of legal entities in any documentation that supports a legal process, like contracts, service agreements, or partnership agreements.

Regulated entity names

Across jurisdictions where we operate, there may be differences in how we refer to regulated entities in sales/marketing materials and legal disclosures or other legal documentation.

Offerings and signature assets

In some cases, we have registered the names of certain products and services in the United States and other jurisdictions as trademarks. For a current list, see the Registered Trademarks section.

Using marks for Morningstar brand assets by all third parties

On first use, all third parties are required to include:

• an ® designator in text (e.g., Morningstar®) and as part of the Morningstar logotype but not within family brand and other names that include Morningstar. In those jurisdictions in which Morningstar has not registered the mark in question, you must use either a ™ designator or an ℠ designator, depending on the country.

• an ℠ or ™ at the end of lockups and family brand names. The choice depends on the country in which the lockup/family brand is being used. Use an ℠ designator in the U.S. and Japan, and a ™ designator in all other countries.
• an ®, ℠ or ™ as appropriate at the end of registered product names.

When using the logotype, third parties must ensure the legibility of the registered trademark symbol.

See the Registered Trademarks section for the full list of registered trademarks and how to represent them in each jurisdiction.

Registered Trademarks

In the tables below, you’ll find the registered trademark status for commonly used names by country or region.

U.S.

Europe

The ® designator associated with the “Morningstar” mark (both word and design marks, in black and in red) may only be used in EU countries and the United Kingdom. The ® designator associated with the “Morningstar” word mark in black may also be used in Guernsey and Jersey. The ® designator associated with the “Morningstar” design mark may also be used in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Russia, Serbia, and Switzerland.

Any use of these marks in any other European jurisdiction should only be given the ™ designator. Please modify the marks below as necessary depending on the location of their use.

Asia, Middle East, and Africa

The ® designator associated with the “Morningstar” word mark currently may only be used in India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, and United Arab Emirates. The ® designator may be used with both the “Morningstar” word and design marks in Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, and South Korea. In China, Singapore, Thailand, and Turkey, the ® designator should only be used with the design mark.

Any use of this mark in any other Asian, Middle Eastern, or African country should only be given the ™ designator. Please modify the marks below as necessary depending on the location of their use.

Canada

Latin America and Bermuda

The ® designator associated with the “Morningstar” word mark currently may be used in Argentina, Bermuda, and Peru. The ® designator associated with the “Morningstar” word and design marks may be used in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. In Panama, the ® designator may only be used with the “Morningstar” design mark. 

Any use of this mark in any other Latin American country should only be given the ™ designator. Please modify the marks below as necessary depending on the location of their use.

Australia and New Zealand