Why do trademarks get abandoned

After three years of non-use, the owner must show tangible, solid evidence to counter a registration attempt by someone else. This type of evidence includes actual advertising with the trademark, meetings with distributors that involved using the mark or retaining a licensing agency to work with the mark. Circumstances outside the owner's control, such as a workers' strike, bankruptcy or restriction on sales can help him show the mark wasn't really abandoned.

If it was due to non-use, then the law is on your side. The previous owner has the burden of proof to show he still uses the mark. If the trademark was lost because of opposition from a third party, this means someone else is using the mark and will dispute your registration, too.

An applicant may revive an abandoned application when the delay in responding to an office action was unintentional. This rule does not apply to the unintentional filing of an incomplete response to an examining attorney's office action. When an application is deemed abandoned due to submission of an incomplete response, the applicant's recourse is to file a Petition to Director under Trademark Rule 2.

Generally, if an application has been suspended for six months or more, the examining attorney will issue an office action inquiring as to the status of the matter on which suspension was based. We will then issue a notice of abandonment to the applicant or the applicant's attorney.

Applicant may electronically file through the Trademark Electronic Application System TEAS a petition to revive the abandoned application return the application to active status if the delay in responding the office action letter was unintentional. The petition revive must be received in the USPTO within two 2 months from the issue date on the notice of abandonment in full or in part. If a response was not filed because the applicant did not receive the office action, the applicant must still file a Petition two 2 months after the date of actual knowledge of the abandonment and not later than six 6 months after the date the trademark electronic system indicates that the application is abandoned in full or in part, in order to revive the application.

Common law rights may be stronger than those associated with a registration, if the common law use is earlier than the use that supports the registration. Therefore, it is critical to learn whether superior common law rights exist, by searching the Internet for websites and articles that reference similar marks that are related to your goods and services.

You should also search state trademark databases and business name databases. We are open for business and remain dedicated to your case! All those working on-site and remotely are still available to answer your questions. The well-being of our clients and staff are vital, so we will provide updates as the situation progresses. These trademarks can be applied to business names, slogans, phrases, logos and symbols, and are an important element to protecting the intellectual property rights of any business.

Once a trademark has been successfully registered, you then receive exclusive rights to use the trademark and make money from the trademark. It is important to note however, that just because you have a registered trademark, that does not mean you are automatically protected. Like in a football game, the initial registering of the trademark can be considered good offense, while the proper usage along with proactive monitoring and stopping infringements can be considered the defense.

Just as both are crucial to winning a game, so are both in successfully protecting your trademark. Abandoned trademarks, also known as dead trademarks, can cause you to forfeit your exclusive rights and can generally happen in one of four ways:. Federal law though the Lanham Act states that the owners of a trademark must actively use these marks as part of their business. This prevents people from registering or reserving trademarks for later use or to simply prevent others from using them.

Trademark abandonment refers to the nonuse of a mark along with certain intentions of the trademark owner. Trademark abandonment, therefore, requires two elements:. Patents, on the other hand, need not be used in order to survive.

Utility patents simply require maintenance fees to be paid at certain time periods following the grant date while design patents require no maintenance fee payments. Keep in mind that patents have finite terms with definite expiration dates while trademark registrations can be renewed indefinitely as long as they are not abandoned. Nonuse of a mark for three consecutive years creates a legal presumption that the mark has been abandoned.

Legal presumptions relate to burdens of proof. So, if a presumption of abandonment has been established, the burden shifts to the trademark owner to show that the mark has been in use during the time period or that the owner has an intent to resume use.

For example, a trademark owner may try to provide evidence of special circumstances to show that nonuse of the mark was temporal, and that the owner has the intention to resume usage.