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Does the use of a trademark have to be claimed before registration is granted or issued?

Senior Trademark Attorney

In most jurisdictions, proof of commercial use is not required before filing a trademark application. The one prominent exception is the US, where the applicant must submit a specimen proving that the goods or services sold under the brand are accessible in the US market.

The USPTO offers two filing bases:

"Use in commerce" basis: for businesses already commercially active in the US market. The specimen must be submitted at the time of filing.
"Intent to use" basis: for businesses planning to launch in the US market. The specimen is submitted later, approximately one year after filing.

Examples of acceptable specimens are covered in our article Intent to use versus use in commerce (US).

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