HOW TO: Maintain Your Trademark Registration

You have a registered trademark - your biz is a rockstar with that special ➡️  ®  

Or maybe like some of our clients, you have 4,5,6 and counting…it is addicting right?!  

Registering a trademark is an AWESOME step towards protecting your brand identity and ensuring that others cannot use it without permission. 

But, did you know that simply registering your trademark is NOT enough. To maintain your trademark registration, there are certain steps that you need to take to keep it active.  

Let’s dive into some tips for maintaining your trademark registration.

1. USE YOUR TRADEMARK

One of the most important steps in maintaining your trademark registration is to use your trademark! Crazy, huh?   If you do not use your trademark, you risk losing your registration. It is important to use your trademark in the course of your business and to monitor and control its use by others. Make sure you have some sales pages active with your trademark on it and use the ®.  This will help to prevent others from infringing on your trademark and will help to maintain your registration.

2. MONITOR YOUR TRADEMARK

It is YOUR job as the trademark owner to monitor your trademark and to be aware of any potential infringements aka other people using it. This includes monitoring the use of your trademark by others, as well as monitoring the use of similar trademarks by others (stay tuned, if you have some active trademarks and need help monitoring, we have something soon that will help!).  It doesn’t have to be an exact match, the test that the trademark office uses is “would it cause likelihood of confusion with consumers?” 

3. YOU HAVE TO POLICE YOUR OWN TRADEMARK 

If you become aware of any potential infringements, it is important to take action to protect your trademark by reaching out to the owner via email or by sending a Cease & Desist Letter.  Enforcing your trademark rights will help to protect your trademark and maintain your registration.

4. KEEP YOUR REGISTRATION UP TO DATE

You have to file paperwork with USPTO.GOV to keep your trademark active after the first 5 years, at 10 years, and then every 10 years after that. It is important to renew your trademark registration before it expires to maintain it. You should be aware of the renewal deadline for your trademark registration and should take steps to renew your registration before it expires!

Owning a trademark is an often business asset to have and it doesn’t take much to keep it going but it does take something.  So just make sure you follow the above and you will be good to go!