Trademark Renewal & Maintenance: Don’t Let Your Rights Expire

Registering a trademark is just the first step—keeping it active and enforceable is what truly protects your brand. Many business owners assume that once a trademark is approved, it lasts forever. That’s not the case. If you fail to renew or properly maintain your trademark, you could lose your rights, in turn opening the door for copycats, competitors, and legal headaches.

The trademark lawyers at Horn Wright, LLP, we help businesses navigate the complex world of trademark renewal and maintenance. Whether you’re managing an established brand or filing your first renewal, having one of the best law firms in America on your side will make sure you stay compliant, avoid costly mistakes, and keep your trademark protected for the long haul.

How Often Do You Need to Renew a Trademark? Know the Deadlines or Risk Losing Everything

Unlike copyrights and patents, trademarks don’t have a fixed expiration date—but that doesn’t mean they last forever. If you fail to renew on time, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will cancel your registration, making it available for anyone else to claim.

Here’s what you need to know about trademark renewal deadlines:

• First renewal: Between 5 and 6 years after your initial registration
• Second renewal: At the 10-year mark
• Every renewal after that: Every 10 years indefinitely

If you miss a deadline, your trademark will be canceled, and you’ll have to restart the entire registration process. Worse, if someone else registers a similar trademark in the meantime, you could lose your rights permanently.

What Happens If You Miss a Trademark Renewal Deadline?

The USPTO will sometimes send email reminders for maintenance filings, but it’s still on you to remember. If you miss a deadline, here’s what happens:

You Get a Brief Grace Period—With a Penalty

• If you miss your renewal, the USPTO allows a 6-month grace period to file late—but you’ll have to pay additional fees.

If You Don’t File, Your Trademark Gets Canceled

• Once the grace period expires, your trademark is removed from the USPTO database.
• You lose all legal protection against infringers.

Someone Else Can Register Your Trademark

• If a competitor registers your trademark after it lapses, you may not be able to get it back—even if you were the original owner.
• If you want to reclaim the trademark, you’ll have to file a brand-new application and prove you’re still using it in commerce.

Losing a trademark can mean rebranding, legal battles, and losing market recognition—all of which can be avoided by keeping up with renewals.

Maintaining Trademark Use & Avoiding Genericide: Protect Your Brand from Becoming "Too Popular"

Keeping a trademark active isn’t just about renewals—you also have to prove you’re using it in commerce and defend it from becoming generic.

Continuous Use: The Key to Keeping Your Trademark Alive

A trademark must be actively used in business to remain valid. If you stop using it for too long, the USPTO can consider it abandoned and cancel your rights.

• To maintain trademark use, make sure you:
  Keep selling products or services under the trademark
• Use the trademark exactly as registered (no major changes)
• Display the ® symbol (if federally registered) to show legal protection

If you plan to pause your business temporarily, you may need to file an excusable non-use declaration to keep your trademark from being canceled.

Preventing Genericide: When a Trademark Becomes "Too Well-Known"

Some brands become so famous that their names turn into generic terms—losing their trademark protection in the process. This is called genericide, and it has happened to once-powerful brands like:

• Escalator (originally a brand name, now a generic term for moving stairs)
• Aspirin (originally trademarked by Bayer, now a generic term for pain relievers)
• Thermos (lost its trademark because people used it to describe all vacuum flasks)

To prevent genericide, trademark owners should:

• Always use the trademark as an adjective, not a noun (e.g., say "Kleenex tissues," not just "a Kleenex")
• Educate customers and the public about the correct trademark usage
• Take legal action against unauthorized generic use in media and advertising

If your brand name becomes too widely used as a generic term, you could lose exclusive rights—and anyone could start using your name without consequences. Our trademark lawyers at Horn Wright, LLP, are ready to advise you throughout the entire trademark process to avoid this happening.

Keep Your Trademark Protected—Don’t Let Simple Mistakes Cost You

A lapsed or abandoned trademark can mean lost business, legal battles, and thousands of dollars in rebranding costs. Staying on top of renewals and actively maintaining your trademark is the only way to keep your rights intact.

The attorneys at Horn Wright, LLP, help businesses handle trademark renewals, enforcement, and brand protection. Whether you need to file your first renewal, prove ongoing use, or defend your trademark from infringement, we’ve got you covered. 

Contact us today to avoid losing what you’ve built. Let’s make sure your trademark stays protected for years to come.