The following is an edited transcript of my video What is the Supplemental Register of Trademarks?.

The main register of trademarks at the USPTO is called the Principal Register.
The secondary register is called the Supplemental Register, and it is an important resource or tool in the trademark world where weaker trademark registrations can reside. The secondary register is for some types of marks that are not able to obtain status on the principal register: generally descriptive marks or marks that are used ornamentally (not used on the tag or label, but on the front of a product).

Not all marks that are ineligible for the main register can go to the Supplemental Register:

  • If a mark is generic, it cannot be registered at all.
  • If a mark has a likelihood of confusion cited against it with another registration, it cannot be registered at all.

Being in the supplemental register means that it is still searchable. It is still in the public records (USPTO database), and it is still searchable by examiners when they’re looking for conflicts. It also still allows the registrant to use the ® and gives them some of the other benefits of a registration on the principal register.

However, it does not give them all the same benefits and presumptions in the event of a dispute or litigation—going on the supplemental register is generally going to be an admission that the mark is weaker, so it does carry that important consequence, but in my opinion, it’s generally better than having no registration at all, particularly because of that searchability factor.


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