Timing Your Trademark Filing: A Practical Guide to Clearance Priority and Intent to Use

61 questions on timing your trademark filing, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Can a trademark become generic and be lost?
• Can delay in enforcing a trademark cost me remedies?
• Can I file a trademark application before I start using the mark?
• Can I file a trademark application myself without a lawyer?
• Does a U.S. trademark registration protect me in other countries?
• Does forming an LLC or corporation give me trademark rights in the name?
• Does registering a domain name give me trademark rights?
• Does thinking of a name first give me rights to it?
• Does token use of a trademark preserve rights?
• Does using a name for many years mean no one can take it?
• Do I need to file separately for each product line?
• Has China addressed the trademark squatting problem?
• How can I avoid USPTO fee surcharges on a trademark application?
• How does a clearance search protect against a willfulness finding?
• How does clearance interact with filing — are they alternatives?
• How do the myths about trademarks all lead to the same mistake?
• How do trademarks affect a financing round or acquisition?
• How long does the trademark registration process take?
• Is a trademark search a waste of money?
• Is it too late to register a trademark if I have been operating for years?
• Is it true that first to file always wins in trademark law?
• Should I register my logo separately from my brand name?
• Should I wait until my business is bigger to register a trademark?
• What are the levels of trademark protection available in the United States?
• What are the limits of constructive use priority?
• What are the two risks of delaying a trademark filing?
• What cases show the strength of intent-to-use constructive priority?
• What does "bona fide intent to use" require?
• What does federal registration on the Principal Register confer?
• What does good trademark timing look like in practice?
• What do trademark registrations cost?
• What happens after an intent-to-use application clears examination?
• What happens during trademark examination at the USPTO?
• What happens if I miss a trademark maintenance deadline?
• What happens to my trademark priority if I redesign my logo?
• What is analogous use and when does it create priority?
• What is a sensible middle path for a budget-conscious founder?
• What is constructive use priority and why is it the payoff of an ITU filing?
• What is naked licensing and how does it destroy a trademark?
• What is Section 2(d) and why is it the most common trademark refusal?
• What is the difference between a knockout search and a comprehensive search?
• What is the difference between first-to-use and first-to-file trademark systems?
• What is the litigation tax on choosing a descriptive trademark?
• What is the Madrid Protocol and what is its central attack risk?
• What is the Paris Convention priority window?
• What is trademark squatting and why does it happen?
• What makes two trademarks confusingly similar?
• What multifactor tests govern likelihood of confusion?
• What ongoing duties follow trademark registration?
• What three questions does a trademark clearance search answer?
• What TTAB cases define the bona fide intent standard?
• When should I file a trademark application for my brand?
• When should I revisit trademark protection as my business grows?
• Why did the Trademark Modernization Act make delay more dangerous?
• Why does the identification of goods and services matter so much?
• Why do founders consistently mistime trademark protection?
• Why is a distinctive trademark easier to clear as well as stronger?
• Why isn't a federal register search enough for trademark clearance?
• Why is publication in the Official Gazette a real risk point?
• Why is the Supplemental Register a trap for founders relying on early filing?
• Why should international trademark strategy be decided at the outset?