Trademark Renewal & Maintenance Filings

Why Maintenance Matters

A federal trademark registration provides powerful protections, but only as long as it remains active. Trademarks require affirmative maintenance filings to show continued use and to keep your trademark protection and registration with the USPTO.

The USPTO cancels registrations that are not maintained. Once cancelled, your mark is no longer registered, and a third party could potentially register the same or similar mark without your knowledge.

The Maintenance Filing Schedule

Between Years 5 and 6: Section 8 Declaration

The first required maintenance filing is a Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use (or Excusable Nonuse), due between the 5th and 6th anniversary of your registration date. This filing affirms that you are still using the mark in commerce (or explains why you are not, if nonuse is excusable).

You must submit an acceptable specimen showing current use of the mark, along with a verified statement and the USPTO fee. If you miss this window, you have a 6-month grace period to file, for an additional surcharge.

Between Years 5 and 6: Section 15 Declaration (Optional)

Simultaneously with or separately from the Section 8 filing, you may file a Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability. This is optional but highly recommended if you have used the mark continuously and without interruption for at least 5 years after registration.

Incontestability status significantly strengthens your mark. Once granted, many common challenges to your registration, such as mere descriptiveness, are no longer available to third parties. Your mark becomes much harder to attack. Many owners file this together with Section 8 as a combined 8&15 filing when eligible.

At Year 10: Combined Section 8 & 9 Renewal (8&9)

Between the 9th and 10th anniversary of your registration (and every 10 years after that), you must file a combined Section 8 & Section 9 renewal. This requires another specimen showing current use and a verified declaration, along with USPTO fees.

Again, a 6-month grace period is available if you miss the filing window, but grace-period filings require an additional surcharge.

What Happens If You Miss a Deadline?

If you fail to file within the maintenance window and the 6-month grace period expires, the USPTO will cancel or expire your registration. At that point, you lose your federal registration and all the benefits that come with it, including the nationwide priority date you established when you first filed.

In some limited circumstances, you may be able to petition for revival of a cancelled registration, but this process is uncertain, expensive, and not guaranteed to succeed. The best strategy is to track your deadlines carefully and file on time.

Proving Continued Use: Specimens

Each maintenance filing requires a specimen showing the mark in current commercial use. The same specimen standards that applied to your original application apply here: labels for goods, website screenshots or marketing materials for services.

Important: the specimen must show current use, not historical use. A website screenshot should reflect what your site looks like today. A product label should be the label currently in use, not one from five years ago.

A Note on Trademark Monitoring

Beyond maintaining your own registration, it's worth periodically searching the USPTO database to ensure no one has filed for a confusingly similar mark. Registrations can be challenged within 5 years through cancellation proceedings at the TTAB, and incontestability status (see Section 15 above) is one of the best protections against such challenges.