The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office is drafting rules for two new proceedings that will be available to the public by December 27, 2021: Expungement proceedings and Reexamination proceedings.[1]
In the future Expungement proceedings, third parties will be able to request cancellation of some or all of the goods or services in a registration because the registrant never used the trademark in commerce with those goods or services.
In the future Reexamination proceedings, third parties will be able to request cancellation of some or all goods or services in a registration on the basis that the trademark was not in use in commerce with those goods or services on or before a particular relevant date.
The USPTO believes that these new proceedings will give U.S. businesses “new tools to clear away unused registered trademarks from the federal trademark register.”