A trademark (or “mark”) is any word, term, name, design, slogan, symbol or other distinctive item that serves to identify a specific product brand. A service mark is the same, except that a service mark identifies a specific brand of service. Trademarks and service marks are treated identically under the law. When a business or product name is used in any way to advertise to the public (i.e. on packaging, a label, a sign, an Internet site) it is subject to trademark law. It is therefore vital that business owners become aware of their rights, duties, and obligations.

Brooks Acordia IP Law, P.C. has the expertise and resources to support your trademark and service mark needs, including document retrieval, data validation, and customized research solutions. We offer customized research solutions to deliver on the most challenging and unique brand projects, domestic or global. Our Action History service reports full text information on a specific trademark, including office action dates, extensions of time and oppositions. We perform trademark data validation to ensure your brand portfolio reflects reality so you can act decisively in times of change, avoid unexpected costs, and map out trademark strategies with confidence. We supply computer retrieval of a specific application or registration. We can also help by regularly monitoring your trademark’s file history at the USPTO. Whenever new activity is reported, you receive an update, complete with supporting documentation. Another valuable service that we provide is U.S. Trademark Portfolio (Ownership) Searches. These searches locate all USPTO and State trademarks owned by a specific company or individual.

To prevent the cancellation of a registered mark, a trademark owner is required to periodically renew their mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. These dates fall at 5, 10, and 20 years following the date of registration, and every ten (10) years thereafter.

Below is a Trademark Renewals schedule:

1. Section 8 – Declaration of Use:Must be filed on a date that falls on or between the fifth (5th) and sixth (6th) anniversaries of the date of registration. Normally, this is filed in conjunction with a Section 15 Declaration (see below).
2. Section 15 – Declaration of Incontestability: To claim that a trademark registered on the Principal Register is now incontestable, a trademark owner must file a Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability once the mark has been in continuous use in commerce for a period of five (5) years after the date of registration. (Note: Section 15 does NOT apply to marks on the Supplemental Register). This document is normally filed in combination with the Section 8 Declaration (see above).
3. Section 8 & 9 – Combined Declaration of Use & Application for Renewal: Must be filed on a date that falls on or between the ninth (9th) and tenth (10th) anniversaries of the date of registration; and then again every ten (10) years thereafter in order to keep the trademark alive.