Keeping a trademark active after filing is essential for safeguarding your company's reputation and identity. Trademark registration is a significant achievement that signals the conclusion of a protracted and occasionally challenging application process. Nevertheless, trademark registration is just one step in your continual battle to safeguard your brand and property. Your obligation, not the trademark office, is to protect and uphold your mark. However, continuing to use your trademark is the first step of trademark maintenance. Trademark rights do not result from trademark registration; they derive from using your trademark in commerce as part of your business. In this blog, we will understand six ways to maintain your trademark after filing.
Ways to Maintain Your Trademark After Filing
Any firm can benefit from trademark registration, so it's crucial to maintain it after filing. Here are six ways to maintain your trademark after filing:
Use Your Trademark in Commerce
Using your trademark in commerce is the first and most crucial stage in trademark maintenance. It implies that your trademark will signify your products or services. Your trademark registration may be terminated or expire if you fail to use it commercially.
File Maintenance Documents
You must file certain documents regularly to prove that you are still using your trademark. These documents include a Declaration of Use and/or Excusable Nonuse under Sections 8 and 9, which must be submitted between the fifth and sixth years following the registration date and the ninth and tenth years following the date of registration, respectively. Your registration will be cancelled or expire if these documents are not submitted by the deadline.
Request for renewal
You must also submit your renewal application within the deadlines. Usually, it needs to be renewed every ten years. Your trademark registration will expire if you don't submit a renewal request.
Use your trademark in accordance with USPTO guidelines
It's crucial to use your trademark in accordance with USPTO guidelines. In other words, you must use your trademark exactly as it was intended when registered. Any modifications to your trademark require a new application, which must be submitted.
Evolve Your Trademark
Your trademark should develop together with your company. It implies you should update your trademark as your company develops and evolves. Your trademark will continue to be useful and relevant if you do this.
Monitor and Keep a Check on Your Trademark
It is crucial to monitor and police it to make sure that others are not using your trademark without your permission. It entails checking for unauthorized uses of your trademark in the marketplace and pursuing legal action against violators.
What are the required trademark maintenance documents for trademark registration?
There are specific trademark maintenance documents that must be filed regularly in order to keep a trademark registration India active. These documents include the following:
Statement of Use or Excusable Nonuse under Section 8: This is a written declaration signed by the trademark owner that either attests to the use of the mark in connection with the products or services identified in the registration or explains any extenuating circumstances that prevent usage.
A Section 8 declaration must contain the following details:
- The trademark registration online number.
- the owner's current name and address
- The fee for the filing of trademark registration online per class of goods or services
- A list of the products or services the trademark is not associated with for commercial purposes.
- The last time the trademark was used in commerce
- Information about the cause of nonuse
- Actions being taken specifically to reestablish use.
- A signed, dated, and written request to renew the trademark registration that attests to the accuracy of the information given.
Declaration of Use and/or Excusable Nonuse of a Mark under Section 9: Between the ninth and tenth years following the registration date, a Declaration of Use and/or Excusable Nonuse of a Mark under Section 9 must be submitted. Every 10 years following the trademark registration date, a renewal application under Sections 8 and 9 must be submitted.
Submitting accurate trademark maintenance documents is important to keep your registration from jeopardizing. Include only those products or services you can offer proof of trademark usage, make an exception, or both. Normally, you'll include a signed statement confirming that you're still using your trademark on the products and services listed in your registration when you submit a needed maintenance document. Additionally, you must send a specimen for each category of goods or services.
What is the process for trademark registration online in india?
If you want to register trademark India in India, you need to follow the steps below:
Perform a Trademark Search:
Before submitting a trademark application, it's crucial to ensure the proposed trademark isn't identical to or already registered as another trademark. On the Indian Trade Marks Registry website, you can perform a trademark search.
Apply for a Trademark:
After conducting a trademark search, you may apply online at the Indian Trade Marks Registry. The application must contain the following information:
- Address and name of the applicant
- Brand name
- The products/services that the trademark registration is for
- The type and categories of products or services
- A declaration of trademark usage
Pay the Application Fee:
In order to submit a trademark application, you must pay the application fee. The cost varies according to how many classes of products or services you are registering your trademark for.
Application review:
The Indian Trade Marks Registry will review the trademark application after filing it. Formal and substantive examinations are both parts of the examination process.
Trademark Journal publication:
If the trademark application is authorised, it will be made public there. The public can oppose the trademark's registration within three months after publication.
Registration of the Trademark:
If there are no objections to the trademark registration online. A certificate of registration will be provided in order to register trademark India.
What steps must be taken in order to renew a trademark registration in India?
The following stages are involved in renewing a trademark registration in India:
The renewal application must be submitted in Form TM-R to the Indian Trade Marks Registry by the trademark owner or an authorized representative. The application must include the following information:
- The registration number for a trademark
- Current status of the trademark
- Applicant's contact details
Verification and examination:
To make sure that all conditions are completed, the Indian Trade Marks Registry will verify the application and evaluate it.
Publication in Trademark Journal:
The renewal application will be published in the Trademark Journal if approved.
Certificate of Renewal:
The Indian Trade Marks Registry will issue a renewal certificate following publication in the Trademark Journal.
It is mandatory to submit the trademark renewal application before it expires. A renewal application may be submitted one year before the trademark registration in India expires. However, the precise due date is six months before the registration expires or on that day. Suppose the trademark registration has expired because you did not renew it before expiration. In that case, it may be reinstated within one year of the trademark's last registration's expiration date by paying a fee through a process called "restoration."
Conclusion
In conclusion, trademark maintenance after filing is essential for safeguarding your brand and company. You can ensure that your trademark is a valuable asset for your company by utilizing it in commerce, filing maintenance documents and renewals, using it per USPTO guidelines, evolving your trademark, and monitoring and policing it. For more information, visit our website.
