Important advantages flow from federal registration. For example, registration is constructive notice throughout the U.S. that the registrant claims ownership. And, after five years of continuous use, no one may contest the registrant's right to continue to use the mark. Also, federal registration allows the registrant access to the federal court system in infringement suits. Business competitors invest millions of dollars in advertising to publicize the goodwill that marks represent.
Consumers identify such marked goods as having particular characteristics and merit.
In our market economy, trademarks play a critical role in the language of advertising. Competition would indeed be cumbersome and impractical without them. Trade Secrets Business competitors are sometimes victims of industrial espionage that takes the form of theft of business ideas and methods. Trade secret protection is a sturdy shield against such tactics. A trade secret is an idea or information that has commercial value because it is not widely known.