As many may know, blockchain shares the task of recording transactions among the people making them, and the underlying technology verify that all users are keeping matching records.

However, the registration of a Trademark can imply high costs if the application is filed in different jurisdictions.

Trademark law recognizes rights to unregistered trademarks, that is to say those trademarks used to distinguish products and services, but never filed nor registered.

Trademark holders are beginning to leverage blockchain technology to secure and document proof of first and continuous use.

In the trademark area, Blockchain technology seems to have at least two immediately applicable uses:

Creating blockchain-based records as a more secure and trustworthy recordkeeping system to prove trademark use; and

Proving the provenance and legitimacy of goods in anticounterfeiting efforts.

There is unequivocal evidence of use in case of infringement for holders of unregistered trademarks as the blockchain technology can create immutable timestamps that can provide proof of first use, continuous use filing and lock in a highly credible date on which certain information related to a trademark was captured.

This can bring to the creation of a record of unregistered trademarks on the same distributed ledger, creating a comprehensive picture of all trademarks in use and the extent of use in a particular jurisdiction.

Blockchain records can be made for trademark use in any jurisdiction, that are quick to obtain and always accessible.