Written by Tomas Orsula
Senior Trademark Attorney
In trademark law, "first to use" refers to a system where priority right to a trademark is granted to the entity first using the mark in commerce, as opposed to the "first to file" system, where what matters is being the first to file a trademark application.
In practice, in a first-to-use country, registration is still typically awarded to the first applicant (unless other issues are rendering the mark unregistrable), with the difference of the mark's earlier user being able to come forward and oppose the application.
Since the first-to-file system is more clear-cut, only a minority of countries adopt the first-to-use system.
What does it mean if a trademark is 'published for oppositions'?
What is the best strategy to avoid opposition as much as possible when registering a trademark?
If I change the product description, will that impact on the registrability of my trademark?
How is "acquired distinctiveness" in trademark law evaluated?
What should I submit as a specimen if I provide e-commerce services instead of producing goods?
Does the price of trademark registration depend on the number of classes?
We have looked into the last 1,000 trademarks registered in main intellectual property offices, including USPTO (United States), UKIPO (United Kingdom), EUIPO (European Union), CNIPA (China), CIPO (Canada), ROSPATENT (Russia), IPA (Australia), BOIP (Benelux), IGE-IPI (Switzerland), NIPO (Norway) and KIPO (Republic of Korea), exploring the average time it takes for a trademark to be registered in the selected jurisdictions.
Satirical adaptations of well-known brands have become a common thing and profitable market for many lesser-known companies. Besides being an effective mean to attract more customers, parody products can also be a good defence against trademark lawsuits, as in many cases, brand owners have limited options to enforce their rights against satirical adaptations.
One of the most common reasons for trademark disputes has to do with the perceived similarity between existing trademarks. The two trademarks are considered “similar” if they share common characteristics connected to their appearance, sound, meaning and commercial impression, and if they are used for related goods or services. This is seen as a problem from brand perspective because the consumers might believe that the owners of the two trademarks are related, affiliated, connected, or that the goods or services originate from the same source.
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