Accordingly, the first rights in a trademark or a service mark are necessarily common law rights acquired by virtue of use of the mark. Because of the additional rights granted under the Federal Trademark Act, most trademark and service mark owners proceed without delay to seek registration of their marks. The principal and important advantages of federal registration are that the owner of a registration is presumed to be the owner of the mark covered by the registration and does not have to prove that ownership in order to make a case of trademark infringement. Federal registration also includes the right to sue in federal court for infringement of a trademark or service mark. In addition, the transfer rights in a trademark or service mark are more specific and the rights transferred are broader if the mark is registered.
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