Trademarks must be capitalized, and while citing works, the capitalization of titles varies depending on the format and whether parts of the title are significant words or fall under exceptions like articles and conjunctions.
Trademarks and Capitalization Rules
The concept of a trademark refers to a unique identifier like a word, symbol, or name that a manufacturer uses to distinguish its products from others. When writing, it's essential to capitalize trade names or brand names but not the generic word that follows unless it is part of the trademark. For example, multiple companies can produce orange drinks, but "Fanta" is a trademarked brand name for one specific type of orange drink.
When citing titles, the capitalization rules vary. For titles and subtitles, capitalize the first and last words, as well as significant words in between, but exclude coordinating conjunctions, articles, and prepositions unless they are at the start or end of the title. In a formal citation, the title of an article should be in quotation marks with significant words capitalized, while a book title should be italicized with the same capitalization rules.
It's important to note that when citing online resources, only the first word after a colon, any proper nouns, and the first word of a title or subtitle should be capitalized. Moreover, when using italics, the rules may vary; for instance, both words of a trademark can be in italics, with the first word capitalized. Parenthetical information should be used to enclose nonessential details. Always refer to online resources like dictionaries or websites dedicated to capitalization rules for further guidance.