The Importance of Registering Brand Names with the USPTO

Considering how valuable brand names are to a business, federal registration of trademarks is a relatively inexpensive and straightforward process. A mark can generally be registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as long as:

1. the mark does not conflict with a pre-existing mark and
2. the owner of the mark uses it in interstate commerce to identify a product or service.

State registration is also available as an alternative to federal registration if the mark is only being used in one state. Although the first person to actually use a brand name in commerce is the rightful owner regardless of whether the mark is registered, demonstrating first use without registration can be difficult.

There are many benefits of federal trademark registration, including

1. notice to others of claim of ownership
2. presumptions of ownership of the trademark, which grants the owner the exclusive right to use the trademark in commerce in connection with the goods or services identified in the trademark registration, and
3. the right to bring an action for infringement in federal court.

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Tagged as: brand names, Trademark