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[Jwiley517]

So I want to open up a restaurant with a catchy name.  I want to go ahead and trademark the name that I came up with to protect it from being stolen, but I want to be able to register the trademark as "used in commerce."  The reason for this is that I want to avoid the "intent to use" process, extra fees, and the 3 year limit on extensions before you must provide proof of use before the trademark is effectively cancelled.  I don't want to spend the time with the extra hassle, the extra money involved, or face the possibility that I may lose the trademark all together if I do not actually use it in commerce within 3 years.

The way I plan on accomplishing this is by opening up an "online restaurant" offering several different foods and drinks that can be ordered online from anywhere in the US and will be shipped to their house.  The online restaurant will be located at the domain name matching the business name, which I have already secured.  If I were to do this, would I be able to state on my trademark application that it was "used in interstate commerce?"  I believe I would be able to say that, as the internet restaurant would perform the same service as the physical restaurant would eventually.

PS.  Once I felt I was ready, possibly more than three years down the road, I would go ahead and open up a physical location for the restaurant with the same name.  

Thanks in advance.

[Isaac]

One thing you did not mention was the use of the trademark other than as a domain name or a business name.  Those uses are not per se, trademark uses.  

I think you can accomplish what you want, but you are going to need to use the trademark to identify your goods and services and not just as the name of your business or as a part of your domain name.

[Jwiley517]

Isaac, could you elaborate a little?  I plan to offer an internet restaurant service...in other words I will sell homemade food and drink items over the internet.  The packaging for these food items will likely have the business name trademark on it.  However, I think because a restaurant is a service business and not a goods business, the main place I have to use the trademark to say it is "used in commerce" is in advertising.  I'm hoping my website fulfills that requirement.  The  website will have the trademark on it, the text of which is a spot on match with the domain name.  The whole point of this is to actually use the trademark performing the same service, just in a much more limited and manageable fashion.  In this way I hope to secure the trademark indefinitely, until I am ready to open up the physical restaurant location, which will provide the same service, so the trademark should protect the physical restaurant just as well as the original internet restaurant.

Is all of this possible, what are your thoughts everybody?

[Isaac]

Isaac, could you elaborate a little?  I plan to offer an internet restaurant service...in other words I will sell homemade food and drink items over the internet.  The packaging for these food items will likely have the business name trademark on it.  

Your original post did not mention the use of the mark on the food items or a branding use on your web page.   Those things sound like trademark uses to me. Do that stuff and I think you're using the mark in commerce.   Now, the question might arise as to what constitutes a usage in *interstate* commerce and whether something less than actually servicing an out of state customer might be enough.   That question is a little fuzzier, and if you want a federal registration, it is actually the question you need to answer.

However, I think because a restaurant is a service business and not a goods business, the main place I have to use the trademark to say it is "used in commerce" is in advertising.  I'm hoping my website fulfills that requirement.  The  website will have the trademark on it, the text of which is a spot on match with the domain name.  The whole point of this is to actually use the trademark performing the same service, just in a much more limited and manageable fashion.  In this way I hope to secure the trademark indefinitely, until I am ready to open up the physical restaurant location, which will provide the same service, so the trademark should protect the physical restaurant just as well as the original internet restaurant.

Is all of this possible, what are your thoughts everybody?

I think you're on the right track.