What is a common law trademark? Do I have to register my trademark to have rights?
A common law trademark is a trademark that someone has begun using on a product or with a service without registering it. Common law rights in the trademark arise through use of the mark. Common law rights are limited to the places where the product or service bearing the mark has become known, generally, where it has actually been marketed. Therefore, while common law rights provide the user of the mark with some rights, common law marks do not prevent others from adopting the same mark for similar goods or services somewhere else.
