Trademark rights owned by one party for a given mark prior, and which were established prior to the time a second party gains trademark rights in that same or a similar mark. In the U.S. the party who is the first to use a mark in commerce has the prior right to the mark, and as such can exclude all subsequent uses of the mark in the same geographic territory. However, in most other countries in the world, trademark rights are prioritized based on the first party to register a mark.
