PROOF OF TRADEMARK USE FOR RENEWAL FURTHER SIM-PLIFIED

07/01/2001

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In January 1999 we reported that the IPO had adjusted its practice regarding proof of trade-mark use for the purpose of renewal for trade-mark registration by accepting registrants' dec-larations of trademark use in place of the docu-ments evidencing use that it had previously re-quired. The purpose of the adjusted practice is to reduce the burden on registrants and increase administrative efficiency. However, when sub-mitting such declarations, registrants still had to append items showing actual use of the trade-mark, such as product packaging, labels, de-scriptive literature, price lists, or advertisements.

To further simplify trademark renewal proce-dures, the IPO Trademark Department at a meeting on 21 June 2001 decided as follows:

When submitting a declaration of trademark use, it will no longer be necessary to append items showing the actual use of the trademark.

The goods for which trademark use is declared may be listed under relatively broad names, such as farm machinery, medical equipment, etc., but wording such as "all goods in this class" is not acceptable, and the goods for which renewal is sought must still be specifi-cally and clearly stated in the renewal appli-cation. Where necessary, examiners may still request the submission of product catalogues for review.