§2.181-§2.186    TERM AND RENEWAL

§2.181    Term of original registrations and renewals.

  • (a)
    • (1) Subject to the provisions of section 8 of the Act requiring an affidavit or declaration of continued use or excusable nonuse, registrations issued or renewed prior to November 16, 1989, whether on the Principal Register or on the Supplemental Register, remain in force for twenty years from their date of issue or the date of renewal, and may be further renewed for periods of ten years, unless previously cancelled or surrendered.
    • (2) Subject to the provisions of section 8 of the Act requiring an affidavit or declaration of continued use or excusable nonuse, registrations issued or renewed on or after November 16, 1989, whether on the Principal Register or on the Supplemental Register, remain in force for ten years from their date of issue or the date of renewal, and may be further renewed for periods of ten years, unless previously cancelled or surrendered.
  • (b) Registrations issued under the Acts of 1905 and 1881 remain in force for their unexpired terms and may be renewed in the same manner as registrations under the Act of 1946.
  • (c) Registrations issued under the Act of 1920 cannot be renewed unless renewal is required to support foreign registrations and in such case may be renewed on the Supplemental Register in the same manner as registrations under the Act of 1946.

[30 FR 13193, Oct. 16, 1965, as amended at 54 FR 37597, Sept. 11, 1989; 64 FR 48900, Sept. 8, 1999, effective Oct. 30, 1999]

§2.182    Time for filing renewal application.

An application for renewal must be filed within one year before the expiration date of the registration, or within the six-month grace period after the expiration date of the registration. If no renewal application is filed within this period, the registration will expire.

[64 FR 48900, Sept. 8, 1999, effective Oct. 30, 1999]

§2.183    Requirements for a complete renewal application.

A complete renewal application must include:

  • (a) A request for renewal of the registration, signed by the registrant or the registrant’s representative;
  • (b) The fee required by § 2.6 for each class;
  • (c) The additional fee required by § 2.6 for each class if the renewal application is filed during the six-month grace period set forth in section 9(a) of the Act;
  • (d) If the renewal application covers less than all the goods, services, or classes in the registration, then a list specifying the particular goods, services, or classes to be renewed.
  • (e) If at least one fee is submitted for a multiple-class registration, but the fee is insufficient to cover all the classes and the class(es) to which the fee(s) should be applied are not specified, the Office will issue a notice requiring either the submission of additional fee(s) or an indication of the class(es) to which the original fee(s) should be applied. Additional fee(s) may be submitted if the requirements of § 2.185 are met. If the required fee(s) are not submitted and the class(es) to which the original fee(s) should be applied are not specified, the Office will presume that the fee(s) cover the classes in ascending order, beginning with the lowest numbered class.
  • (f) Renewals of registrations issued under a prior classification system will be processed on the basis of that system, unless the registration has been amended to adopt international classification pursuant to § 2.85(e)(3).

[30 FR 13193, Oct. 16, 1965, as amended at 31 FR 5262, Apr. 1, 1966; 41 FR 761, Jan. 5, 1976; 64 FR 48900, Sept. 8, 1999, effective Oct. 30, 1999; 67 FR 79520, Dec. 30, 2002; 73 FR 67759, Nov. 17, 2008, effective Jan. 16, 2009; 80 FR 33170, June 11, 2015, effective July 11, 2015]

§2.184    Refusal of renewal.

  • (a) If the renewal application is not acceptable, the Office will issue a notice stating the reason(s) for refusal.
  • (b)
    • (1) The registrant must file a response to the refusal of renewal within six months of the date of issuance of the Office action, or before the expiration date of the registration, whichever is later. If no response is filed within this time period, the registration will expire, unless time remains in the grace period under section 9(a) of the Act. If time remains in the grace period, the registrant may file a complete new renewal application.
    • (2) The response must be signed by the registrant, someone with legal authority to bind the registrant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership), or a practitioner who meets the requirements of § 11.14 of this chapter, in accordance with the requirements of § 2.193(e)(2).
  • (c) If the renewal application is not filed within the time periods set forth in section 9(a) of the Act, the registration will expire.

[48 FR 23143, May 23, 1983; 64 FR 48900, Sept. 8, 1999, effective Oct. 30, 1999; 73 FR 67759, Nov. 17, 2008, effective Jan. 16, 2009; 74 FR 54898, Oct. 26, 2009, effective Dec. 28, 2009]

§2.185    Correcting deficiencies in renewal application.

  • (a) If the renewal application is filed within the time periods set forth in section 9(a) of the Act, deficiencies may be corrected after notification from the Office, as follows:
    • (1) Correcting deficiencies in renewal applications filed within one year before the expiration date of the registration. If the renewal application is filed within one year before the expiration date of the registration, deficiencies may be corrected before the expiration date of the registration without paying a deficiency surcharge. Deficiencies may be corrected after the expiration date of the registration with payment of the deficiency surcharge required by section 9(a) of the Act and § 2.6.
    • (2) Correcting deficiencies in renewal applications filed during the grace period. If the renewal application is filed during the six-month grace period, deficiencies may be corrected before the expiration of the grace period without paying a deficiency surcharge. Deficiencies may be corrected after the expiration of the grace period with payment of the deficiency surcharge required by section 9(a) of the Act and § 2.6.
  • (b) If the renewal application is not filed within the time periods set forth in section 9(a) of the Act, the registration will expire. This deficiency cannot be cured.

[64 FR 48900, Sept. 8, 1999, effective Oct. 30, 1999; 80 FR 2303, Jan. 16, 2015, effective Feb. 17, 2015]

§2.186    Petition to Director to review refusal of renewal.

  • (a) A response to the examiner’s initial refusal of the renewal application is required before filing a petition to the Director, unless the examiner directs otherwise. See § 2.184(b) for the deadline for responding to an examiner’s Office action.
  • (b) If the examiner maintains the refusal of the renewal application, a petition to the Director to review the refusal may be filed. The petition must be filed within six months of the date of issuance of the Office action maintaining the refusal, or the renewal application will be abandoned and the registration will expire.
  • (c) A decision by the Director is necessary before filing an appeal or commencing a civil action in any court.

[64 FR 48900, Sept. 8, 1999, effective Oct. 30, 1999; 68 FR 14332, March 25, 2003, effective May 1, 2003; 73 FR 67759, Nov. 17, 2008, effective Jan. 16, 2009]