Filing Basis Law and Legal Definition
Under trademark law 15 USCS § 1051, filing basis is the legal basis for filing an application for registration of a mark. The Trademark Act sets out five filing bases for an applicant. An applicant must specify and meet the requirements of one or more bases before the mark will be approved for publication for opposition or registration on the Supplemental Register. The five bases are :
1. use of a mark in commerce,
2. bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce,
3. a claim of priority, based on an earlier-filed foreign application,
4. registration of a mark in the applicant’s country of origin, and
5. extension of protection of an international registration to the U.S.
When no basis is provided in the original application for registration, the examining attorney will issue an office action requiring the applicant to specify a basis and meet all requirements for the basis. In trademark applications, the applicant can claim more than one basis, and also can add or substitute a basis after filing the application.
