[E-trademarks] Junior User Filing Federal Registration with Existing Senior Common Law User

[Janet Satterthwaite]

I assume the junior user adopted in good faith and was unaware of the senior remote user at the time of adoption.

I have seen  done something similar, claiming in the declaration that the applicant knows of no prior rights holder except possibly x county,  but if you want to lock down the junior user's right to expand, I think you have to file a concurrent use application, which gets litigated  before the TTAB. Then you lock in the senior user's footprint and you get the presumptive right to the rest of the country. They can come in and litigate the extent of their footprint, so there would be discovery etc.



Janet F. Satterthwaite|Partner/ Chair, Trademark Practice|Potomac Law Group, PLLC

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From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> on behalf of Annette Heller via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2025 4:55 PM
To: e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>; e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Annette Heller <tmattorneyheller at aol.com>; ericab at ebmediate.com <ericab at ebmediate.com>
Subject: Re: [E-trademarks] Junior User Filing Federal Registration with Existing Senior Common Law User


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If the junior user is aware of the senior user and where they are using the mark, then when the junior user files the application, the junior user sets out the area it is not claiming rights to and list the other party information.

That is what I have done in the past.

Annette

Annette P. Heller
Trademark/Copyright Attorney
TM Law & Associates
400 Chesterfield Center Ste 400
Chesterfield [St Louis] MO 63017

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In a message dated 7/18/2025 3:51:36 PM Central Daylight Time, e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com writes:


Can someone remind me of the rule that allows a junior user to file a federal registration even if there is an existing senior common law user, where the senior’s use is in just 1 or 2 states? I assume the registration is subject to the senior user’s geographic common law rights. Must the junior user be unaware of the senior user when filing the application, or the junior user can be aware, but just refrain from infringing the senior user’s common law rights in the senior’s geographic area?  Can the senior user try to cancel the junior’s registration, or just enforce its geographic common law rights?  Thanks!



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