The USPTO's February 10, 2017 notice postponed the effective date of its January trademark evidence rule to March 21. The original announced date had been February 17. The change concerned additional-proof authority for specified post-registration filings; it did not establish that the expanded authority was already operating or that all existing examination powers had been suspended. [2017-02796][2017-00317]

The January 19 final rule covered section 8 affidavits or declarations of continued use or excusable nonuse and section 71 affidavits or declarations of use in commerce or excusable nonuse. Its amendments allowed reasonably necessary information, exhibits and additional specimens for examination or assessment of the register's accuracy. That was a defined maintenance-filing scope, not every trademark transaction. [2017-02796][2017-00317]

The agency described a pilot involving 500 randomly selected registrations for which section 8 or 71 affidavits had been filed. Ultimately, affidavits were accepted for 422 registrations, or 84.4 percent. The figure included acceptance after queried goods or services were removed, so it did not measure how many original registrations had wholly accurate lists at the outset. [2017-02796][2017-00317]

The useful distinction is between an accepted maintenance filing and proof supporting every originally claimed item. The pilot's figures described the pilot, not the entire national register or a rate of fraud. The January rule and February delay belong to one USPTO proceeding. Together they establish the expanded mechanism and its revised future schedule, without demonstrating later implementation or market-wide benefits. [2017-02796][2017-00317]

Source documents

  1. Changes in Requirements for Affidavits or Declarations of Use, Continued Use, or Excusable Nonuse in Trademark Caseshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-02-10/html/2017-02796.htm
  2. Changes in Requirements for Affidavits or Declarations of Use, Continued Use, or Excusable Nonuse in Trademark Caseshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-19/html/2017-00317.htm