Most people comprehend of the numerous benefits of having a trademark registration on the Principal Register for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In fact, trademark owners are urged by trademark attorneys to select distinctive marks in order to be able to, upon used interstate commerce, be registered there and have numerous presumptions because validity, ownership, and notice. However, the Supplemental Register comes with value, especially when the alternative is away from the question initially.

Before the advantages of being supplementally registered is discussed, you’ll want to understand that which a supplemental registration doesn’t provide. Marks occasionally relegated to the Supplemental Register Logo India Online because, at the request of the USPTO examining attorney, the marks are merely descriptive and therefore not a distinctive identifier of supply of the services or goods to which the mark pertains. Such placement does not pay for the exclusive right to use the mark in commerce in experience with its identified services or goods. Equally important, it does not serve as prima facie evidence of the validity of the registered mark or of the trademark registrant’s ownership from the mark. Finally, it may an admission that the mark is not inherently distinctive.

While these drawbacks obviously warrant a mark owner’s try to be registered on the key Register, a supplemental registration has benefits of its own. In fact, some entities choose to possess a brand that tells consumers what everyone they are offering (e.g. Pizza Restaurant) as opposed to an inherently distinctive mark (.e.g. Domino’s) demands effort to create consumer recognition. Such marks are not going to warrant principal placement, though they be supplementally disclosed. After five years on the Supplemental Register, the mark may qualify for the principal Register due to it having acquired distinctiveness. It is worth noting that both allow the owner to use the registered trademark symbol, sue in federal court, and advantages of certain international agreements.

Thus, any registration with the USPTO is better than having no trademark registration at completely. While ultimately the Principal Register provides the most benefits and best protection, the Supplemental Register should be considered where an entity prefers what is likely a merely descriptive mark at the outset or did not acquire the requisite distinctiveness to be registered on where lots of deem as the preferred spot.