Trademark Priority Under a Tack
Under U.S. trademark law, when two parties are using the same brand for the same goods or services in the same territory, courts typically resolve the conflict by determining which party used the brand first. Ownership of a brand based on first use is called "priority."
February 05, 2015 at 06:10 AM
4 minute read
Under U.S. trademark law, when two parties are using the same brand for the same goods or services in the same territory, courts typically resolve the conflict by determining which party used the brand first. Ownership of a brand based on first use is called “priority.”
It is common for a brand owner to update or modernize a logo, especially as technology changes. Logos in 2015 look a lot different than logos did in the 1980s. Likewise, brand owners sometimes change the wording of their mark. Sometimes the changes are significant. In 1979, Master Charge became MasterCard. And sometimes the changes are minor. In 1962, Pepsi-Cola became Pepsi.
Brand updates give rise to an interesting legal question. Does the brand owner's priority reset if the brand owner updates its trademark? Or does the brand owner's priority reach back to the previous version of the trademark?
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