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On June 22, 2016, the USPTO issued a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled "Changes in Requirements for Affidavits or Declarations of Use, Continued Use, or Excusable Nonuse in Trademark Cases" in the Federal Register at 81 Fed. Reg. 22. Comments are due on or before August 22, 2016.
The USPTO proposes to revise the rules in parts 2 and 7 of title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations to allow the USPTO--during the examination of affidavits or declarations of continued use or excusable nonuse filed pursuant to sections 8 or 71 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1058, 1141k--to require the submission of information, exhibits, affidavits or declarations, and additional specimens of use as may be reasonably necessary for the USPTO to verify the accuracy of claims that a trademark is in use in connection with the goods/services listed in the registration.
This will benefit the public by helping the USPTO assess and promote the integrity of the trademark register by encouraging accuracy in the listing of goods/services for which use or continued use of the mark is claimed. The proposed rules also facilitate the cancellation of registrations by the USPTO of marks that were never in use or are no longer in use, and for which acceptable claims of excusable nonuse were not submitted.
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