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Should I apply with an intent to use for our US trademark or wait for the actual use in commerce?

Founder & Trademark Attorney

Apply with intent to use now. Waiting until actual use in commerce delays your priority date, and in the US, every day without a filing is a day in which a third party could establish priority over your mark.

An intent-to-use application secures your priority date immediately. There are a couple of things you should watch out for. Firstly, there are extra fees associated with the Statement of Use (the document you’ll need to file to prove you’re commercially using the mark down the line). Secondly, you shouldn’t file an ITU application if you have no launch plan at all. This is because once the USPTO issues a Notice of Allowance, there’s only a 36-month window (with extensions) to file the Statement of Use.

Otherwise, if your US launch is a realistic near-term plan, the intent-to-use route is both practical and cost-effective.

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