Differences Between Trademark Registration on Principal ...

1 Differences Between Trademark Registration on the Principal Register and the Supplemental Register The primary Differences Between a Registration on the Principal Register and the Supplemental Register are the following:While a Principal Registration is prima facie evidence of the registrant s exclusive right to use of the mark, a Supplemental Registration has no such evidentiary a Principal Registration is constructive notice of claim of ownership so as to eliminate a defense of good faith, a Supplemental Registration has no such a Principal Registration may become incontestable after five years of Registration , a Supplemental Registration can never achieve that evidentiary on the Supplemental Register cannot be used as a basis for the Department of the Treasury to stop importations of infringing products into the United litigation where a plaintiff has a Supplemental Registration , the mark will not, prima facie, receive protection as a valid Trademark .

2 For its very presence on the Supplemental Register indicates a preliminary determination that the mark is not distinctive of the applicant s goods. But a mark that will not, prima facie, be protected, may, through use, become distinctive of applicant s goods and thus receive advantages of a Supplemental Registration , as opposed to none at all, are the following:Suit for infringement of the registered mark can be brought in Federal Court, along with a related claim of unfair competition. Even though a Supplemental Registration creates no substantive rights, questions of validity, ownership and infringement of Supplemental Registrations are governed by Federal benefit of a Supplemental Registration is that one s Supplemental Registration is on file in the Patent & Trademark Office and can be cited ex parte by the Examining Attorney against another s later application to register a substantially similar mark, even on the Principal , the registrant is entitled to use a Federal Trademark Registration notice such as the.

3 Registration can potentially serve as a deterrent, preventing another from adopting a similar , when the mark has been in use for five (5) consecutive years, it would be possible to reapply for Registration of the mark on the Principal Register. 2009 Lombard & Geliebter LLP. All rights