State Registration or Federal Registration?

A trademark can be registered with individual states, or with the federal U.S. Government.  A trademark can only be granted a federal registration if the mark is being used in interstate commerce.  In other words, if the mark is being used exclusively in one state and there are no out-of-state customers, then federal protection is probably not available.

However, federal protection becomes available as soon as the trademark is used in interstate commerce, and the legal threshold for achieving “interstate commerce” is quite low.

Related Topics:

How Do I Register My Trademark, and What is the Process?

What are Common Law Rights?

If I Have Common Law Rights, Then Why Do I Need a Federal Registration?

Should I Do a Trademark Search?