Consent Agreement
(Trademark, Short Form)

Summary

This short form trademark consent agreement is a streamlined contract between a trademark applicant ("Junior User") and a trademark registrant ("Senior User") who already owns a potentially conflicting registration and agrees to the new application. The purpose of this agreement is to overcome a USPTO refusal based on likelihood of confusion by having the Senior User consent to the Junior User's registration of the same or similar mark. Under this agreement, both parties represent that their concurrent registrations and corresponding uses are unlikely to cause consumer confusion. This template includes practical drafting guidance, alternate provisions, and optional clauses to fit most straightforward consent scenarios It is limited to the issue of federal registration and the uses that correspond to those registrations. It does not, however, address more complex matters such as future product or geographic expansions, international filings, or ownership of domain names and social-media handles. Those topics are better handled in a full Trademark Coexistence Agreement. For more detailed information on drafting and negotiating consent and coexistence agreements, see Coexistence and Consent Agreements in Trademark Disputes. For a sample coexistence agreement, see Co-existence Agreement (Trademark). For resources on likelihood of confusion, see Likelihood of Confusion Resource Kit. For broader trademark enforcement strategies, see Trademark Enforcement Resource Kit. For an overall guide to TTAB proceedings, see TTAB Proceedings Resource Kit.