What is the Procedure for Trademark Renewal?
The proprietor must apply for renewal before the Registrar of the Trademark in a prescribed form [TM-R], on or before six months from the expiration date of the Trademark Registration. If no application for trademark renewal has been filed, it must be done in one to three months before the expiration of the registration.
After that, the Registrar must send a notice to the proprietor informing him of the upcoming renewal date. If a notice of renewal has not been served, you must keep in mind that no trademark can be removed.
Short comes of failure to the renewal of trademark.
The short comes of not renewing the trademark are incredibly severe. The proprietor has paid no fee for renewal, or in case no application for renewal has been filed, the Registrar may remove the mark from the register. To remove in the trademark journal, the Registrar shall first advertise his intention to remove the mark by advertising the notice before removing the trademark.
Letting-down to renew affects all those who are either assigned or licensed the trademark, and not just the proprietor himself. Not renewing your trademark also affects your legal rights, which, in effect, declines your legal position. It is because; a registered trademark has the advantage of exclusiveness. Nevertheless, the core benefit of renewal is that it discourages other people from using your mark.
