Business owners and entrepreneurs must understand the basic requirements of trademark usage in order to protect their brand, save themselves unnecessary costs and headaches, and avoid the loss of their trademark rights. Trademark rights do not simply arise from a thought that pops up out of thin air. Although most people know that saying, “Trademark it!” after a clever quip, slogan, or name at a company meeting or happy hour is not enough, many do not fully understand what it takes to retain the rights, whether in the United States or elsewhere, to a mark that is worthy of trademark registration or is already registered.

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision involving a beverage company and another decision from the European Union (EU) involving the famously recluse artist Banksy illustrate the risks of territorial nonuse in the United States and the EU.

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