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U.S. Trademark Law in a Nutshell
In the U.S., trademark rights derive from commercial use of distinctive designs, words or logos (and, in certain limited cases, sounds, smells, colors and shapes) on or in connection with goods or services to identify the source of those goods or services. For example, when consumers buy a brand name product, they know it comes from a certain source even if they may not know the name of that source, and they may have come to expect a certain quality associated with that brand. If another party later begins using a similar name for similar goods, consumers could be confused as to the source of the product or whether the source of the brand name they like may sponsor or somehow be affiliated or connected with this other similarly named product. Since the purpose of trademark law is to prevent such confusion, the first party could sue the second party for trademark infringement.
Federal registration is not required to have valid rights in a mark because a party can acquire such rights through commercial use of the mark. However, federal registration offers a number of additional legal benefits and advantages, particularly for parties who have not yet used but have already chosen a proposed trademark and parties who plan to use the trademark on a widespread basis.