THANK YOU! That sounds totally reasonable how it would work. This lawyer we talked to seemed to be pulling a fast one, she wanted us to “print up a few tee shirts and sell it to friends” then make a receipt and give her $2500 up front, I was like what are you kidding? Forget it.
So if we put this on the web and put that TM next to it for a year, couldn’t somebody else do that as well? Or I guess they would have to make it public? Not that they would anyway, there’s probably zero chance this would sell but you never know.
If others use that same trademark, you'll need to calculate your chances of ultimately winning the registration by satisfying yourself that you were an earlier claimant than your competition (if in the same market area). If I were faced with someone else that was on the scene using the same trademark (using a TM), I'd probably take my investment to a different, unused trademark rather than waste all the time and effort hoping they go out of business.
I suppose it's possible a competitor will challenge you if that entity shows they were clearly first, but if they don't survive in business, or you buy out their trademark, you might still be the eventually winner of the registration.
IANAL, so that's merely my two cents worth. But, I've always gotten the registrations for which I filed, which I think is up to six.
HF
Put the trademark on paper with your fingerprints. Mail it to yourself certified mail and have it date stamped, and never open it until you get the registered trademark. In fact it’s a good idea to keep it unopened as long as you use the TM. This is the way my husband protected his songs until they were published.