Republished with permission. This article was originally published in Managing Intellectual Property magazine (January/February 2019).
The USPTO in 2017 began randomly auditing trademark registrations. Andrea Anderson provides tips for what to do if you are audited.
The USPTO’s rigid proof of use requirements have long vexed brand owners based outside the US, given the challenge of producing acceptable specimens of use that satisfy the Office’s detailed and somewhat arbitrary requirements. The impact and reach of these use requirements is about to increase significantly as the USPTO embarks on a program to audit US trademark registrations to verify use in US commerce.
Andrea Anderson is a partner at Holland & Hart. She provides trademark-related strategic counsel to brand owners.
Please see full publication for more information: User-friendly? Strategies for navigating the USPTO's use audits for global brand owners.