Concurrent Use Registration Law and Legal Definition
Concurrent use registration is a federal registration that delineates certain limitations on the use of a mark due to the concurrent use of a similar mark. Generally, the first of two companies to use a mark is entitled to nationwide registration rights, except for the specific geographic area in which the second company is using the mark, even if the first user has not used the mark nationwide. If the second user is the first to register, then the second user is the one that receives nationwide registration subject to the first user's geographic region. Concurrent users can agree to leave open certain regions permanently or else long enough for one or the other to begin actual use in that region.
Pursuant to 15 USCS § 1052, an eligible applicant can request issuance of a registration concurrent with the registration of a conflicting mark. In a concurrent use application, the applicant normally requests a geographically restricted registration. The applicant seeks registration for a specified geographical area of the U.S. and lists one or more parties who concededly have rights in the mark in other geographical areas of the U.S. The other parties can own applications or registrations, or they may have common law rights in a mark, but no application or registration.
