There are two registers of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) the principal register and the supplemental register. The “principal register” is the primary trademark register of the USPTO. Trademarks registered on the Principal Register are entitled to all the rights provided by the Trademark Act.
Benefits of owning a trademark registration on the Principal Register include:
- Registration is a legal presumption of the registrant’s ownership of the mark and the registrant’s exclusive nationwide right to use the mark on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the registration (15 U.S.C. Sections 1057(b) and 1115(a);
- Trademark registration gives constructive notice to the public of the registrant’s claim of ownership of the mark (15 U.S.C. Section 1072);
- Registration establishes date of constructive use of the mark as of the filing date of the application (15 U.S.C. Section 1057(c); TMEP Section 201.02);
- Registration establishes jurisdiction in any federal court where venue is proper (15 U.S.C. Section 1121);
- Trademark registration provides an exclusive right to use a mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods or services covered by the registration can become “incontestable,” subject to certain statutory defenses (15 U.S.C. Sections 1065 and 1115(b));
- Any registered federal US trademark can be filed with the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods (15 U.S.C. Section 1124); and
- A US federal registered trademark can be used as a basis to file a trademark registration application in another country.