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Step 4: Trademark Maintenance and Protection

Trademark Maintenance and Protection does not stop with obtaining a registration of your trademark

To keep the registration "live," owner of the trademark must file specific maintenance documents.  Failure to make these required filings will result in cancellation and/or expiration of the registration.  

Specifically, between the 5th and the 6th year after the registration, the owner of the trademark must file an Affidavit of Use - a sworn statement that the mark is in use in commerce.

In addition, it is highly recommended to file Affidavit of Incontestability - a sworn statement which the trademark owner can file after five years of continuous use of the mark. While an Incontestability Affidavit does not have to be filed, it is advantageous to do so because it will allow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deem the registered trademark incontestable, which strengthens the mark and its owner’s ability to protect it. The affidavits should be filed as soon as possible, as an affidavit of incontestability generally cannot be filed if a challenge involving the mark has been raised.

Finally, your trademark registration must be renewed every ten years from the date of registration, or it will expire. To renew a federal trademark registration, a trademark owner must file an Application for Renewal with a Declaration of Use. Contact us now for your FREE consultation with a Trademark Attorney.