Posts Tagged: "dead trademark"

Zombie Trademarks: Bringing a Trademark Back From The Dead

Unlike patents and copyrights, a trademark can exist in perpetuity so long as it is being used. And a mark has to be used to stay alive. But sometimes, and for a variety of reasons, a company will stop using a mark. This is known as “abandoning” it. A trademark can be abandoned while the application is still pending or it can be abandoned later after it has been in use for some time. Abandonment can happen for a few reasons, for example, failure to respond to an Office action or for failure file a required affidavit. But today, we’re talking about abandonment for non-use. Abandonment can be a tricky concept, but in terms of non-use, a trademark will be abandoned when an owner stops using it with no intention of resuming use of the mark. But abandonment is not necessarily permanent, hence the zombie nickname. A once dead trademark can spring back to life if a few conditions are met.