A recent decision, Curry v. Revolution Laboratories, LLC, makes that unmistakably clear. On December 19, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a substantial judgment in favor of a trademark owner who never registered his mark. The takeaway is hard to ignore: not obtaining federal registration of your trademark doesn’t mean foregoing your rights—but it does mean you must be prepared to prove them.

Charles Curry, Jr. began selling his DIESEL TEST supplement in 2005. More than a decade later, Revolution Laboratories, LLC entered the market with a product under the same name. When dissatisfied customers mistakenly blamed Curry for Revolution’s product, the damage to his reputation became real. Despite notifying the company, Curry was ignored—forcing him to take legal action on his own.

What followed underscores both the risk and the reward. Although Curry initially lost his case without legal counsel, he persisted. After securing representation and taking the case to trial, a jury awarded him $2,500 for reputational harm, $500,000 in disgorged profits, and $900,000 in punitive damages. After trial, the district court ruled that disgorgement of profits under the Lanham Act, see 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a), is an equitable remedy, not a legal one, and exercised its judgment to increase the disgorgement award to $547,095.44. The court also denied defendants’ motion to reduce the jury’s punitive damages award, finding that the ratio between defendants’ profits award of roughly $550,000 and the punitive damage awards of $300,000 per defendant was less than 1:1 per defendant and therefore “easily permissible” under the Constitution. On appeal, directly solely to the issue of punitive damages under Illinois law, the judgment stood.

This case sends a clear message: unregistered trademarks can be powerful assets—but only if you treat them that way. Success hinges on your ability to demonstrate consistent, documented use of the mark in commerce. Without that evidence, even a strong claim can falter.

If you rely on an unregistered mark, don’t leave its value to chance. Maintain thorough records of how and where your mark is used, track customer interactions, and preserve proof of brand recognition. And importantly, ask yourself whether the growing value of your mark justifies federal registration. As this case shows, the upside can be significant—but preparation is everything. A list of such questions can be found here: Annual Checklist Unregistered Trademarks

James E. “Jim” Hudson III is a shareholder in the firm’s Intellectual Property Law Group.  For more information contact Jim here.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For questions related to the case mentioned above, please contact Jim Hudson, Bill Jensen, or a member of Crain Caton’s Intellectual Property Law Practice Group.