To promote the accuracy and integrity of the trademark register, effective October 28, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has amended its practices concerning the selection of trademark registrations for audit during the postregistration maintenance process
under which it conducts audits of the affidavits or declarations of continued use or excusable nonuse.
When the USPTO implemented its audit program in 2017, it announced that it would conduct random audits of certain affidavits or declarations filed each year. To promote the accuracy and integrity of the trademark register, the USPTO is adding additional directed audits to its practice.
The post-registration audit rule provides the USPTO with the authority to require the submission of information, exhibits, affidavits or declarations, and such additional specimens of use as may be reasonably necessary for the USPTO to ensure that the register accurately reflects marks that are in use in commerce in the United States for all the goods or services identified in the registrations, unless excusable nonuse is claimed in whole or in part.
Going forward, the USPTO will conduct directed audits of these filings when the registration file or the postregistration maintenance documents exhibit characteristics that call into question whether a mark is being used in commerce in the ordinary course of trade. This includes registration files with a specimen that appears digitally altered or made up of printouts from a specimen farm website.
These changes are intended to better position the audit program to address obvious issues with registration, thus protecting the integrity of the trademark registration system and improving the overall accuracy of the trademark register.
“An accurate trademark register serves an important purpose, as the public relies on it to determine whether a chosen mark is available for use or registration,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Kathi Vidal. “Conducting post registration audits is just one of the ways we are ensuring the integrity of the trademark register for the benefit of all.”