The Declaration of Use (also referred to as a “Section 8” filing) must be filed between the 5th and 6th year following your trademark’s registration date, between the 9th and 10th anniversary of your registration, and every 10-year interval after that. If you’ve exceeded the sixth year by less than 6 months, you may pay an additional fee to file within the USPTO grace period. If you exceed the deadline by more than 6 months, your registration will be canceled.

We’ll need you to provide: (1) your USPTO trademark registration number, and (2) proof (called a “specimen”) showing that you’re using your trademark to sell the products (“goods”) and/or services listed on your registration. If your trademark is registered for products, examples of acceptable specimens include photos of product packaging, clothing tags or product labels that prominently display your trademark. If your trademark is registered for services, examples of acceptable specimens include brochures, advertisements, or websites that prominently display your trademark associated with the services you’re selling.

The Declaration of Incontestability (also referred to as a “Section 15” filing) is an optional filing. This is a sworn statement claiming “incontestable” rights, allowing the mark owner to request the highest status of protection under federal law. Once a Declaration of Incontestability is approved by the USPTO, an owner is protected against many legal challenges that people or businesses might raise to contest the owner’s rights in the mark. If you’ve been continuously using your trademark to sell the products and/or services listed on your registration for five (5) years, you may be able to file a Declaration of Incontestability with your Declaration of Use.