Avoiding Trademark Pitfalls: Benefits of a National Trademark Search When Seeking State Registration

The owners of Beaver's Mini Mart in Beavercreek, Ohio have captured both the hearts of the residents of their small town and of a nation. Full of fight and tenacity, Beaver's has taken Buc-ee's Mini Mart's trademark challenge head-on and is preparing for the fight of its short existence in order to preserve the right to use its beaver logo, a logo Buc-ee's says infringes its own beaver logo.

With that being said, the mini mart appears to have been the first to use the logo in the area, as it changed the name and associated logo for its mini mart in January of 2025, over a year before Buc-ee's opened its first Ohio store in April 2026. This is significant in the sense that Beaver's may have a claim that it established common law trademark rights by being the first to use the mark locally. Ohio common law trademark rights are established by being the first to use a mark, not by registering the mark. This will be an important distinction as the case progresses as Buc-ee's will need to establish that it was using the mark locally prior to Beaver's use in order to establish priority, which is not impossible, but unlikely.

Ohio grants common law trademark protection based on local use, not state-wide or nationally. However, federal trademark registration gives Buc-ee's priority nationally as they were most certainly the first to file at the national level. Beaver's filed its state application for trademark protection in October 2025 but, as stated before, has been using the mark as far back as January of 2025.

Why does this matter? It matters because while Buc-ee's may be able to prevent Beaver's from ever expanding beyond the geographic territory in which it currently operates, it may not be able to successfully make the argument that Beaver's should not be able to use a mark that it was already using, and likely had already established common law trademark rights, when Buc-ee's moved into the area.

Lesson for Business Owners

A federal trademark search couldn't hurt if you are even so much as considering using a new mark. In the case of Buc-ee's vs. Beaver's Mini Mart, a national search would have likely uncovered the similarities between its mark and the Buc-ee's mark, which can save thousands of dollars in litigation costs. Beaver's may have a strong argument for why they should be allowed to continue using their mark, but they'll need to spend a fortune in order to do so.

Contact me today if you are considering a new trademark so we can take the steps necessary to mitigate these sorts of risks. And remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.