People register trademarks to use them as a symbol of their business or brand. Once certified, others may not use it for profit without purchasing rights to the trademark. The Law Offices of William D Black and our Phoenix business litigation attorneys are here to protect your rights against trademark infringement.
Keeping Your Trademark Current
A trademark protects businesses, preventing others from using their logo, design, sound, or slogan for their own profits or purposes. These restrictions protect the brand by ensuring the owner controls quality, marketing, and general usage. If you use a logo for your business, you will likely benefit from registering it as a trademark. Trademarked logos can also offer a sense of security for consumers because the logo represents the brand that they trust.
The business owner must use the mark in commerce on the specified types of goods and services listed on the application. There are approved reasons for extended periods of disuse in certain situations, but often three years. After this time, your trademark will be considered abandoned.
Renewal
Initial certification of a trademark does not mean lifelong certification. The trademark lasts for several years before it requires a renewal or proof of use. This proof of use requirement prevents a company from needlessly holding a trademark hostage when not using it for business or commerce purposes. You can renew your trademark as often as necessary, allowing you to keep it indefinitely. The renewal periods are as follows, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office:
- Between the fifth and sixth year after registration
- Between the ninth and tenth year after registration
- Every ten years after that (between 19th and 20th year and 29th and 30th year, for example)
What Does it Mean to Have an Expired Trademark
If you miss the deadlines to renew your trademark and keep it live, it will no longer be protected, and you may need to file additional paperwork and pay fees to renew it. If you submit the paperwork within six months of expiration, you can renew it with just an additional fee. However, if you miss the grace period, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will consider your trademark abandoned or expired.
If you do not renew your trademark and it is canceled or expires, your registered trademark loses its protection, and someone else can use it. Further, you will no longer have legal recourse for that usage. Additionally, you may be able to renew your registration but may have to reapply completely. If another business owner has already taken the previous trademark, some companies will take this as an opportunity to rebrand and then apply to register the new mark.
The most common ways to lose your trademark registration are through abandonment, where you are not using the mark according to USPTO standards, or by allowing it to lapse by not following a renewal or failing to address challenges or corrections requested by the agency. However, if you keep your trademark registration and use in compliance with USPTO standards and submit renewals on time, your trademark could be renewed and active indefinitely.