What Federal Trademark Registration Actually Buys You: A Practical Guide

61 questions on what federal trademark registration actually buys you, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are the registration presumptions conclusive?
• Can a company file intent-to-use applications for multiple candidate names?
• Can a later user beat an earlier user on priority?
• Can an unregistered owner sue in federal court?
• Can a single filing be the difference between a regional label and a national brand?
• Can you walk through registration's benefits operating together?
• Does a business own a trademark before it files anything?
• Does constructive notice run backward?
• Does Dawn Donut give the remote junior user permanent peace?
• Does federal trademark jurisdiction require diversity or an amount in controversy?
• Does priority run from the filing date or the registration date?
• Does registration also supply real-world notice?
• Does the Bose standard relieve counsel of the duty to verify?
• Has the internet eroded the Dawn Donut rule?
• How do a registered and an unregistered plaintiff differ in court?
• How does a U.S. registration support international filings?
• How does registration deter disputes that never happen?
• How does registration reshape the battlefield for a litigator?
• How far does constructive notice reach?
• How long can an intent-to-use reservation last?
• How much use is enough to establish use in commerce?
• If the right is free, why does anyone pay to register?
• Is CBP recordation strictly required?
• Is counterfeiting a federal crime?
• Is incontestability a shield or a sword?
• Is registering on the Supplemental Register an admission of weakness?
• What are the ongoing maintenance obligations of a registration?
• What are the statutory damages for counterfeiting?
• What argument does incontestability take off the table?
• What can CBP do with a recorded mark?
• What defense does constructive notice destroy?
• What defenses survive incontestability?
• What did Stone Creek v. Omnia hold?
• What did the Trademark Modernization Act add?
• What does "federal registration" usually mean?
• What does the Supplemental Register NOT provide?
• What does the Supplemental Register provide?
• What is an ex parte seizure order?
• What is an intent-to-use application?
• What is CBP recordation and what does it do?
• What is constructive notice under Section 22?
• What is constructive use under Section 7(c)?
• What is incontestability and how is it obtained?
• What is state trademark registration worth?
• What is the bottom line on federal registration?
• What is the "central attack" risk under Madrid?
• What is the danger for a regional company without registration?
• What is the Dawn Donut rule?
• What is the single biggest benefit of federal registration?
• What is the standard for cancelling a registration for fraud?
• What is the USPTO Post-Registration Audit Program?
• What must "bona fide intent" be backed by?
• What three things does a registration establish prima facie?
• What treble damages apply to counterfeiting?
• What would that same company lose without registration?
• When does state registration earn its keep?
• When should a registrant file the Section 15 affidavit?
• Who can outrank a registrant's constructive-use date?
• Why are the anti-counterfeiting remedies unavailable to unregistered owners?
• Why is the Lanham Act cited in two different ways?
• Why is the ® symbol tied to a money question?