Registering a Trademark might sound simple, but you’d be surprised how often ownership disputes occur; new businesses and people choose the same word or word combinations already being used and trademarked by other brands. If you don’t register yours, then down the line, you may get third party claims against your brand. These usually involve messy and costly legal proceedings to establish whose rights are earlier and stronger. This is where a trademark registration comes in handy. It records when you stated your claim for that particular brand. In addition, the process of registering a trademark usually includes publication of your claim to the public for a period of time in which anybody can raise an opposition. If during the publication of your trademark application somebody feels that they should be entitled to the exclusive use of the mark instead, they can file what is called an opposition. The result is that the U.S. Patent and Trademark office (or trademark office in the applicable office) then goes through the process of determining who has an earlier priority date and stronger rights, and then makes a decision whether to grant you the trademark or not. During these proceedings, both the applicant and holder may submit evidence as to who started using the trademark earlier, and who is legally entitled to its ownership.