What product received the first U.S. trademark registration in 1870?

The product associated with the first U.S. trademark registration in 1870 was Averill Chemical Paint.

The registration followed the federal Trademark Act of 1870, an early attempt to create nationwide protection for brand identifiers used in commerce. On October 25, 1870, the Averill Chemical Paint Company received U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1 for its mark, which was used in connection with its paint products.

This milestone reflects a practical problem created by expanding commerce: manufacturers needed a way to distinguish their goods from competing products and to build consumer confidence in a brand. A trademark identifies commercial source, unlike a patent, which protects an invention, or copyright, which protects original expression.

The original federal trademark law was later invalidated on constitutional grounds, and modern U.S. trademark protection developed through later legislation, especially the Lanham Act of 1946. The first registration is therefore a landmark in American trademark history, not the beginning of today’s entire legal system.