How to maintain the validity of your trademarks in the US

How to maintain the validity of your trademarks in the US

How to maintain the validity of your trademarks in the US

Once you have received the trademark protection, you must take a few important steps to maintain it. Your trademark must first be used commercially. Additionally, to demonstrate that you are still using your trademark, you must file specific paperwork on a regular basis. Your registration will expire or be canceled, or your extension of protection to the United States would be void if you fail to provide these papers by the deadline (if you filed via WIPO under the Madrid system). Rarely are their exceptions to the rule that you must utilize your trademark.

Maintain your trademark validity by continuing to use your trademark

In general, trademark owners may only get federal certification if they are actively utilizing their trademark for commercial purposes. To demonstrate that they are utilizing their trademark, the majority of applicants include samples with their applications. However, one instance of trademark usage is insufficient. If you want to maintain your registration and benefit from it during the life of your trademark, you must consistently show usage.

Overview of the process for mandatory maintenance documentation

When you file a required maintenance document, you usually include a signed statement indicating that you’re still using your trademark with the products and services listed in your registration. You will also provide one specimen for each category of products or services.

We’ll go through your maintenance document to see if you fulfill the requirements to keep your registration. If your registration is audited, you will be required to show further proof of use. If you fail to produce acceptable proof of use, you will be required to give proof of use for each good and service stated in your registration in the audited classes, remove any goods and services for which you cannot provide proof of use, and pay a charge for each class with deletions.

Delete goods or services promptly if no longer in use

If you discontinue using your trademark with one or more of the goods or services listed in your registration between mandatory maintenance filings, you must remove them from your registration as soon as possible. Submit a section 7 request to have these products or services removed. There will be no charge for removing products or services in this manner between maintenance files.

Before filing any required maintenance documents, thoroughly review your trademark usage. If you are not using your trademark in connection with one or more of the products or services listed in your registration, you must identify those goods or services in your declaration in order to have them removed from your registration. You will not be charged a price if you delete products or services in this manner.

To prevent losing your registration, you must complete proper maintenance documentation. Include only items or services for which you can produce proof of trademark usage or seek an exemption.

If you submit one of the necessary maintenance documents indicated below but subsequently remove products or services before your maintenance document is accepted, you will be charged a cost for each class that has deletions. We will send you an office action if you are obligated to pay this price but do not pay it when you remove the products or services. Your registration will be canceled if you do not pay the money before the deadline for responding to the office action.

This fee is charged to ensure that you maintain your registration up to date by informing us of changes in your trademark use. If you don’t, you’re breaking the law by not having a federal trademark registration. The public trusts our official records of federally registered trademarks (called the “trademark register”). The trademark register’s effectiveness in providing notice of trademark rights to enterprises and the general public is diminished by outdated information concerning usage.

***Other Articles***

You could check Required documents of filing trademark in USA here.

– You could see What needs to be done after registering a trademark in US? here.

– You could visit here to see What is use in commerce of filing trademark in USA.

– You could also check here to see Procedure of Trademark in USA.

Contact AAA IPRIGHT: Email: [email protected]

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