Maintaining Your Registration

Because trademark rights stem from use, the PTO wants to ensure that registered marks are actually in use. Marks not being used are cleared from the PTO registers and are then available to others. The PTO requires that trademark owners take the following actions to maintain a registration:

  • Between years five and six after registration, and every ten years after registration, the owner must file an affidavit of use (called the Section 8 Affidavit) with the PTO verifying that he or she continues to use the mark. The current filing fee is $100 per class of goods or services offered under the mark.

  • A renewal application (called a Section 9 Application) for the registration must be filed every ten years. The affidavit ...

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