We have been having a spike in Trademark filings over the last year or so, and we have been asked more and more often to renew existing registrations. The Document People can certainly help with your Trademark renewals: but when are they due?
It’s common knowledge that a trademark protects your name and logo (or just the name) from being used by others within the same field a person operates – whether that’s a service, like teaching Yoga, or a product, like pet food. But how long is the protection good for, and when does that protection start?
Although the trademark process takes a few months, even when there are no issues in the petition (no name conflicts, accepted specimen, i.e. sample of the mark being in use), the protection starts immediately upon receipt of the petition. After the petition is filed, a registrant can start using the TM symbol. After that it will be approximately four months before an attorney is assigned to the case, and there are some notes sent to the applicant (called “actions”).
Upon receipt of the actions the applicant has 6 months to respond and address the issues. We tend to be proactive at this stage, because every day that passes without an answer is a day wasted towards the goal of registering the trademark. After all issues have been resolved, the petition is approved for publication in the Official Gazette. The registration date is the date used to determine when the renewals are due. A trademark renewal (basically by paying an additional filing fee) needs to happen every 10 years. However, after between the fifth year and the sixth one, an additional Affidavit of Use (also called Section 8 Affidavit) must be filed, along with a specimen that the name is still in use (resubmitting the original specimen is enough).
It’s important not to forget about the Section 8 Affidavit, because if the deadline passes without filing it, then the registration is cancelled and cannot be revived or reinstated. Interestingly enough, the Section 8 Affidavit is due only once. After that, every other trademark renewal follows the 10 year timeline.
The Document People is a network of independent legal document assistants. In all locations trademark filings and renewals are offered for a flat fee. Visit our stores in Los Angeles County (Woodland Hills, Santa Monica, San Fernando, Torrance, Van Nuys, Glendale, Marina del Rey/Venice), Orange County (Anaheim, Irvine) San Diego County (Oceanside) and soon Ventura County in Oxnard.
The information contained in this blog – including information of a legal nature – is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
