When applications to renew trademark registrations are filed, some countries, including the United States, will require that you submit evidence that the mark is in use. Trademark Marking and Usage Trademarks must also be properly marked and properly used. Often, companies in labeling products or in brochures correctly use their trademarks either within quotes or all in capital letters. In addition, it is imperative that trademarks be used in advertising copy as adjectives, never as nouns or verbs. Improper use of a trademark, or allowing others to use your trademark improperly, can result in the trademark becoming generic and open to use by others in the public domain.
Trademarks can enter the public domain by other means as well.
In many countries of the world, even though you have created a trademark and are using the trademark, if you do not register that trademark, you have no rights in it. Although there are many other countries, in addition to the United States, which provide certain rights to mere trademark users, asserting trademark rights based on mere use of a trademark is expensive and time consuming, not to mention the fact that you may fail if your usage is not sufficiently notorious. Thus, a trademark registration is a valuable asset for use in asserting your trademark rights against other parties. Furthermore, since a trademark registration is viewed as an asset, it can be used to collateralize a loan or it can often be sold to a third party. Fend Off Other Parties - Trademarks can be misappropriated innocently by coincidence, or intentionally, by competitors, distributors, or professional trademark pirates.