1108.02(g) Good Cause Required for Extensions Beyond the First Six-month Extension – Collective Marks
No showing of good cause is required in a first request for an extension of time to file a statement of use, but each subsequent extension request must include a showing of good cause. See 15 U.S.C. §1051(d)(2); 37 C.F.R. §2.89(a), (b)(4), (d). A showing of good cause for a collective trademark, collective service mark, or collective membership mark must include a statement of ongoing efforts to make use of the mark in commerce by members on or in connection with each of the relevant goods/services/collective membership organization covered by the extension request. Efforts to use the mark in commerce may include the development of standards, steps taken to acquire members such as marketing or promotional activities targeted to potential members, training members regarding standards, and other similar activities. 37 C.F.R. §2.89(d)(2). In the alternative, a satisfactory explanation for the failure to make such efforts may be submitted. Id.
If an extension request does not include a showing of good cause, or if the showing of good cause in an extension request is deemed insufficient, the ITU staff will issue an Office action denying the extension request but granting the applicant thirty days to overcome the denial by submitting a verified showing of good cause (or a substitute extension request that includes a showing of good cause). This showing may be submitted even if the statutory period for filing the statement of use has expired.
See TMEP §1108.02(f) for general information regarding good cause in an extension request and §1108.02(h) for information regarding good cause in an extension request for a certification mark.