Intent-to-use Federal Trademark Application

If a person or entity does not qualify to file a trademark application “in commerce,” then an applicant may file said Federal trademark application under an “intent-to-use” basis if certain qualifications are met.  Specifically, to file an intent-to-use trademark or service application, the applicant must have a good faith or bona fide intention to use said mark in commerce with all the goods and/or in connection with all the services listed in said application in the near future.   Intent-to-use trademark applications are referred to in shorthand as “ITU” trademark applications, and are filed under Section 1(b) of the Trademark Act.   Some factors to consider when determining whether you comply with the qualifications for an ITU trademark include: (1) the amount of use; (2) the nature or quality of the transaction; and (3) what is typical use within a particular industry.  In the end, the applicant has to have a bona fide intent to use the mark in the ordinary course of a trade, and not made merely to reserve a right in a mark.