A surname usually qualifies for trademark registration on the Supplemental Register. In order to qualify for placement on the Principal Register, the mark must have acquired distinctiveness, or “secondary meaning.” That is, it must be well-known to the public – for example, through advertising or long use.

Once a mark is listed in the Principal Register, others are precluded from registering the mark, even on the Supplemental Register, in a way that might cause consumer confusion (i.e., for a similar product or service).

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