If you think trademark protection starts the day you file an application, here’s a twist:
Your rights might have started long before that the very first day you used your brand in business.
In the world of logos, brands, and fast-growing businesses, two things quietly affect every trademark dispute:
- Prior Use (Common Law Rights)
- Registration (Statutory Rights)
Understanding the tug-of-war between these two doesn’t just make you sound smart, it could save your brand from disaster.
- Why This Topic Matters (More Than You Think)
Imagine running a successful business for year, then one morning receiving a legal notice from someone who just registered “your” brand name.
Confusing? Common.
The only way to avoid this nightmare is understanding how prior use and registration actually work and how courts treat them differently.
Let’s break it down.
- What Is “Prior Use”? (Common Law Rights)
Prior use simply means: you used the brand first.
Before trademark laws were official, courts used a doctrine called Passing Off to protect traders from copycats.
Under Prior Use Rights, You Get Protection When:
- You use a brand name, logo, or tagline in the course of business
- Consumers start associating that brand with you
- Another business tries to copy or imitate it
What You Can Stop Others From Doing:
- Misrepresenting their goods as yours
- Confusing customers
- Riding on your reputation
Bottom Line
You get rights by using a trademark; you don’t have to register it to have them.
Prior users are also strictly protected in India (and most other countries) courts.
What Is “Registration”? (Statutory Rights)
Trademark registration under national law (like the Trademark Act in India) gives you statutory rights.
What Registered Rights Give You?
- Legal ownership across the entire country
- Exclusive rights to use the mark
- A powerful legal presumption in your favour
- Ability to use ®
- Easier enforcement against infringers
- Protection at customs, online marketplaces, and global filings
Bottom Line
Registration is not the birth of your trademark, it’s the amplifier.
It strengthens your rights, expands your territory, and makes enforcement easier.
Prior Use vs. Registration -Which Wins?
Short answer: Prior Use almost always wins.
Even if someone else registers your name later, they cannot takeaway your goodwill or stop you from using your brand.
Example (a classic market scenario):
You started selling “Café Mocha Brews” since 2017.
Someone registers the trademark in 2021.
They send you a legal notice.
The court will likely protect you, because courts hate dishonesty and reward bona fide prior use.
This principle has been upheld in several significant judgments worldwide.
A well-known case in India is Toyota vs. Prius Auto Industries (2017).
In the important Supreme Court case Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha v. Prius Auto Industries, Indian auto parts dealers used the name “Prius” before Toyota brought Prius cars to India.
Indian traders were safe even though Toyota had a registration in another country because they had built up a good name in India first.
Lesson: Prior use is based on where the brand was built first, not where it was registered first globally.
Why Prior Use and Registration Are Both Important?
- Prior Use = Your Legal Shield
If someone tries to steal your brand, it protects your legacy, reputation, and first rights.
- Registration = your legal sword.
It helps you fight people who break the law without having to deal with complicated evidence battles.
- Together = Protection for Your Brand That Can’t Be Broken
The best defense is to use something before registering it.
Think of it like this:
Prior use is your birth certificate; registration is your passport.
Both prove who you are, but the passport makes life easier.
Final Takeaway: Build a Brand, But Back It with Law
A brand isn’t just a name, it’s your identity, your market goodwill, and your future income.
To protect it:
- Use the brand consistently
- Keep proof of use (invoices, packaging, ads)
- Register it as early as possible
Because in a world where businesses grow fast and copycats grow faster, the real winners are the ones who know the law behind the logo.
Authored by Himanshu Rana
