Trademark registration is an important part of protecting the goodwill in your business. While common law trademark rights are created when a trademark is used in commerce in association with goods or services, a federally registered trademark affords the owner of the mark certain benefits. These benefits include nationwide protection from the date of the application, incontestability after 5 years, which limits the challenges that alleged infringers may bring to a registrant’s mark, warning to others that the mark owner claims rights in the mark, the ability to prevent the importation of goods that bear a counterfeit trademark, a presumption that the trademark is prima facie valid in a trademark infringement lawsuit, the ability to use the circle R ® registered trademark symbol, and the registration can form the basis of an international registration.
Marks not registrable on the Principal Register can be registered on the supplemental register if they are capable of distinguishing the applicant’s goods or services. The mark must also be capable of distinctiveness. The Supplemental Register is typically home to terms that are descriptive, geographic, or personal surnames. These registrations do not receive the same statutory advantages as registrations on the Principal Register, but they do deter others from choosing a confusingly similar mark. Additionally, they may help create secondary meaning in the mark, which could ultimately lead to registration on the Principal Register.
A trademark registration lawyer can help you determine whether your mark can be registered on the Principal Register or on the Supplemental Register. If you seek trademark registration, please contact one of our expert trademark registration lawyers at 866.936.7447.
