Principal Register vs. Supplemental Register for Trademarks: Which one your want; How they are Different
- Prinicipal Trademark Register
- Supplemental Trademark Register
- Table Showing Differences Between The Principal And Supplemental Register
There are two different trademark registers: (1) the Principal Trademark Register and (2) the Supplemental Trademark Register. Each register has its advantages and disadvantages. Read on to learn which register you want you mark to be one, if possible, and how each register is different.
Prinicipal Trademark Register
The Principal Register is the one you want your trademark to be registered under if possible. Registering your trademark on the Principal Register provides significant advantages over the Supplemental Register. For example, everyone else in the United States is considered “constructively noticed” of your exclusive right to use the trademark. This means someone cannot claim they had no notice that you owned the trademark rights to your mark.
There are other advantages and benefits to the Principal Register. The trademark itself is published in the USPTO Official Gazette, which lets everyone know you now own that trademark. Further, your registration certificate is prima facie evidence that you have the exclusive right to use your trademark. When seeking registration on the Principal Register, you can file an Intent To Use application without actually having begun using the mark in commerce. You can also file the trademark with U.S. Customs to prevent the importation of goods from abroad which bear your trademark or a similar mark.
Supplemental Trademark Register
The Supplemental Register is a consolation prize. While you do not receive all of the benefits a trademark on the Principal Register receives, the Supplemental Register does provide additional protection for your trademark and does confer some benefits to your trademark. First, as with marks registered on the Principal Register, marks registered on the Supplemental Register may put the Circle-R ( ® ) next to their trademark to denote that it has been “Registered” with the federal government. In addition, merely descriptive marks do not need to show acquired distinctiveness/secondary meaning in order to be registered on the Supplemental Register, making it easier to register some problem trademarks.
Table Showing Differences Between The Principal And Supplemental Register
Below is a table describing some of the differences between the Principal Register and Supplemental Register.
| Advantages/Rights | Principal Register | Supplemental Register |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark Published in the Official Gazette of the US Patent and Trademark Office | Yes | No |
| Nationwide “Constructive Notice” of your ownership of the Mark | Yes | No |
| Registration Certificate is prima facie evidence of your exclusive right to use the trademark | Yes | No |
| Can file an Intent To Use application as part of the registration process | Yes | No |
| Owner can use the ® symbol and declare the mark “Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office” or “Reg. U.S. Pat. & ™. Off.” | Yes | Yes |
| Trademark owner can prevent the importation of goods using the same or similar trademarks | Yes | No |
| Registration does not need to show acquired distinctiveness/secondary meaning for “merely descriptive” marks | No | Yes |
Where do I go to trademark something?
Trademark registrations get filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Organization (or the USPTO for short). The USPTO has an online trademark application, although there is also a paper-based application option.
The USPTO’s trademark website is found here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp
You can search existing trademarks, learn about the trademark process, read the USPTO Trademark Manual, read guides, the Official Gazette, look at trademark laws and regulations, contact the USPTO, and most important for us—file your application online!
The online application is found here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/index.jsp
The online application is called TEAS for short. (This stands for Trademark Electronic Application System.) Currently, three types of online applications exist—TEAS Plus, TEAS RF, and TEAS Regular (what used to be called just TEAS). There is also a paper filing option.
Each of these different filing options have different filing fees and different filing requirements.
The 4 Different Trademark Filing Options
| Questions | TEAS Plus | REAS Reduced Fee (RF) | TEAS Regular | Paper Application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What is the filing fee per class of goods/services? | $225 | $275 | $325 | $375 |
| Is email correspondence required? | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Do subsequent filings have to be filed online through TEAS? | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Must you use the USPTO Trademark ID Manual in your identification of goods/services? | Yes | No | No | No |
| Filing fees per class required to be paid upfront? | Yes | No | No | No |
| Must your application include required statements (i.e. claim of ownership, color claims, etc.) up front? | Yes — see TMEP § 819.01 | No | No | No |
| Do you have to pay additional processing fees if you don’t meet the relevant filing requirements for the option? | Yes — $50 per class of goods/services | Yes — $50 per class of goods/services | No | No |
Quick Links
Trademark Processing Fees: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee010114.htm#tm
Reduced Fees & TEAS Application Filing Options: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/Reduced_Fees_Info.jsp
USPTO Online Trademark Application Page: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/index.jsp
3 Tips for Using Online Logo Design Services
- 1. The more you pay, the better the product.
- 2. Stay On Top Of Your Logo Design Project.
- 3. Understand What Intellectual Property You Just Purchased.
- Conclusions
- Further Reading
Need a logo?
If you’re like me, then doing it yourself may not be the best idea.
Nevertheless, good graphic designers are hard to find and can cost thousands of dollars!
If you’re just starting a business, or even if you’re a small business, you might not have thousands of dollars lying around.
The hip new thing is to use an online logo service. You’ve probably seen their ads on your Facebook or Twitter feeds—services like Fiverr.com and 99Designs.com.
These services cost less, but are they worth it?
1. The more you pay, the better the product.
You get what you pay for holds true, even in the online world. The more you pay, the more likely you will like the outcome.
99Designs Approach to Logo Design
99Designs has you select design packages. There are four design package tiers with increasing costs: * Bronze * Silver * Gold * Platinum
The more you spend on a design package, the more the winning designer will receive for the design. Plus, with the Platinum Design Package, only designers handpicked by 99Designs can work on the contest.
You can learn more about the 99Design process on their website. You can read about their logo design contests on the Logo Design part of their website.
Fiverr Approach to Logo Design
Fiverr.com has a different approach. Each basic logo design project is priced at $5. (Thus the name Fiverr.com!)
However, do you want the design in a week? 24 hours? Then you will have to pay more.
Want the design in PNG format? PSD format? You will have to pay more.
Want the source file for the design, or multiple versions? Then you will need to pay more.
This is how the designers at Fiverr.com make their money—add-on pricing! And don’t forget to research your designer on Fiverr.com! Client reviews and work examples can tell you a lot about a designer (including, sometimes, whether they aren’t afraid to steal their work examples from other places).
2. Stay On Top Of Your Logo Design Project.
Whether you use 99Designs or Fiverr, you need to stay on top of your logo design project. Both platforms give you opportunities to provide designers feedback and guidance—use those opportunities to get the best results!
The more feedback you provide your designers—whether an individual designer at Fiverr.com or a group of competing designers at 99Designs.com—the more likely you will be satisfied with the final product.
3. Understand What Intellectual Property You Just Purchased.
Paying someone to design a logo for you does not necessarily mean you own the trademark, or even copyright, in that logo.
Fiverr.com leaves this process up to you and the designer.
99Designs.com covers intellectual property issues uniformly and transparently. At the close of each Design Contest, you and the winning designer enter into a Design Transfer Agreement. You can read an example of this Design Transfer Agreement here: http://99designs.com/legal/design-transfer-agreement
In order to avoid copyright infringement issues, and give you the best chance to get your logo registered with the USPTO, you logo needs to original and free of someone else’s artwork. Plus, you need to know what intellectual property rights you have in the logo.
Conclusions
Getting a logo designed online can be done cheaply. The challenge is making sure the logo itself doesn’t look cheap.
Fiverr.com and 99Designs.com are just two of the online platforms a small business or startup business can use to get a quick, affordable, and good-quality logo.
Fiverr.com may give you the best bang for the buck, but you will also need to be more careful in how you go about finding a designer. Plus, with all the up-charging and add-on purchases, you may end up spending just as much with Fiverr.com as you do at another platform like 99Designs.com.
99Designs.com costs more initially, but the process itself is much smoother. 99Designs provides clarity in what intellectual property you will own at the end of your Design Contest. Plus, there is a lot of helpful information and tips on their website on how to have a successful Design Contest.
Remember the first tip—you get what you pay for!
If you have the money, we recommend 99Designs. It is a more painless solution.
Fiverr.com can also work, but will likely require more of your time to ensure you get what you need.
Further Reading
A List of Reviews of Fiverr.com Logo Designs
What Kind of Logo Do You Get for $5? — An epic tale of deception, stolen artwork, and crappy logos. This article explores Fiverr.com through a series of efforts to have a logo designed. A good list of example logos and the pros and cons of using Fiverr.com are provided. This is a great article to look at before you use Fiverr.com. You can get another, longer version of this article here.
How to Get a Cheap Logo for a New Wordpress Blog – Fiverr Test, Part 1 looks at the Fiverr.com process and shows the results of two Fiverr.com designs. The conclusion in this article was that “you get what you pay for.” Which was a not very good logo.
Cheap Logo Design With Fiverr Test, Part 2 is part two of the above article. The results in the second part of the Fiverr.com design review were better, but the conclusion on the logo quality is that they are still not great. Perhaps usable in the short term, but something the business would want to upgrade in the future.
Articles On Using 99Designs.com for Logos or other Designs
99DESIGNS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY goes through the the results of one company’s 99Designs logo design competition. A good read to learn what kind of issues may crop up in a 99Designs challenge.
99 Designs Review looks at the 99Designs process when you do not get good results.
Get Over It, Haters: 99designs Has Tipped is an article on 99Designs generally, discussing the controversy in the design community over 99Designs.
99designs Review: How to Make the Most of 99designs.com provides a review of the 99Designs process and some tips on how to get a good result.