Trademark Blog

What is the Section 44(e) Trademark Filing Basis?

Section 44(e) Trademark

The Section 44(e) trademark filing basis allows the owner of a foreign trademark registration to base its U.S. trademark application on the foreign registration. As a practical matter, Section 44(e) applies only to a relatively small number of trademark applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The vast majority of trademark applications are filed under Section 1(a) (use in commerce) or Section 1(b) (intent to use). In addition, some trademark applications can be filed under Section 44(d), which allows the owner of a foreign trademark application to use its application to obtain a priority trademark filing date in the United States. This article explains the benefits of Section 44(e) and the requirements for utilizing this valuable tool.

What is the Section 44(d) Trademark Filing Basis?

Section 44(d)

The Section 44(d) trademark filing basis is applicable to certain trademark applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Most of the time, trademark applications are filed under with Section 1(a) (use in commerce) or Section 1(b) (intent to use). However, Section 44(d) allows the owner of a foreign trademark application to rely on its foreign application to secure a priority filing date in the United States. What does this mean? Well, it means that the owner’s USPTO trademark application filing date will be considered to be the date on which the foreign trademark application was filed.

How Do I Amend a Trademark Application?

amend a trademark application

What does it mean to amend a trademark application? Simply put, it means changing or altering the application in some manner after it’s filed. The way to amend a trademark application is by filing an amendment with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Oftentimes, there are no government fees associated with filing an amendment, but you could still waste a lot of time and effort requesting an amendment that violates the USPTO’s rules and regulations. So, it’s important to understand which kinds of amendments are allowable, when they can be filed, and how to properly file them with the USPTO.

What is Excusable Nonuse of a Trademark?

excusable nonuse

Excusable nonuse of a trademark occurs when circumstances beyond the control of a trademark owner causes a temporary interruption in the use of the mark. The concept of excusable nonuse most frequently arises when it comes time for the owner of a U.S. trademark registration to file the Section 8 Declaration of Use or the Section 71 Declaration of Use with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Normally, both of these declarations require verification that the registered trademark is in use in commerce in order to prevent the registration from being canceled.

Can You Amend a Trademark Registration?

amend a trademark registration

You can sometimes amend a trademark registration issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), just like you can sometimes amend a trademark application before it becomes a registration. All requests for amendment of a registration must be “for good cause,” which essentially means you need to have a legitimate reason for the amendment. In addition, a request to amend a trademark registration must be accompanied by the required government filing fee and be supported with the declaration language found in 37 C.F.R. § 2.20.