Post Registration Audit Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) started the Post Registration Audit Program in November 2017. The program promotes the accuracy and integrity of the trademark register.美国专利商标局(USPTO)于2017年11月启动了已注册商标审核项目。该项目促进了商标注册的准确性和完整性。Relative Q&A
Why is the USPTO auditing registrations?
为什么美国专利商标局审核已注册商标?
The USPTO randomly audits registrations with required maintenance filings to help preserve the trademark register as a reliable reflection of trademarks in use in commerce. The trademark register in the United States is a use-based register. Registrations are entitled to be maintained only for goods or services for which the trademark is in use in commerce or for which temporary nonuse is excused due to special circumstances. Inaccurate or improper use claims in registration maintenance filings jeopardize the validity of your registration, may unnecessarily block future applications, and diminish the utility of the trademark register to provide notice of trademark rights to businesses and the public. Trademark owners submit one specimen per class with six and ten-year declarations of use filed to maintain their registration. If the USPTO audits your registration maintenance filing, you will be required to prove use of your trademark for additional goods and services in the registration. If you do not respond to the audit, your registration will be canceled. If you respond but do not provide proof of use for those goods or services, you will be required to delete them from the registration. In addition, you must pay a $250 deletion fee per class each time goods or services are removed, and possibly a $100 deficiency surcharge, or your entire registration will be canceled.美国专利商标局随机审核已注册商标的后续维护申请,使注册商标能确切地反映商标在商业中使用情况。美国的商标注册是基于使用的注册,注册商标仅有权保留在商业中已实际使用的产品或服务,或因特殊情况暂时不使用的商品或服务。注册后的维护申请中,不准确或不当使用会危及您注册的有效性,可能还会阻碍您未来的商标申请,并削弱商标注册人对企业和公众展示其商标权利的效力。商标所有人需每个类别提交一个使用证据,并提交六年和十年的使用宣誓,以维持其注册。如果美国专利商标局随机审核到您的注册维护申请,您将需要证明您的商标实际使用于另外注册的商品或服务。如果您不答复该审查意见,您的商标将被撤销。如果您答复了却不能提供使用这些商品或服务的证据,您需要从这些商品或服务中删除它们。此外,每次删除商品或服务时,您必须支付每类250美元的删除费,并且可能需要支付100美元的附加费,否则您的注册商标将被撤销。
Could my registration be audited?
我的注册商标会被审核吗?
Yes, if your registration meets these requirements:You timely filed a Section 8 or 71 declaration of use; and(a) Your registration includes at least one class with four or more goods or services.OR (b) Your registration includes at least two classes with two or more goods or services.一、您及时提交了5-6年使用证据和9-10年使用证据。二、您的注册包括至少一个类别,其中包含四种或更多商品或服务,或您的注册包括至少两个类别的两个或多个商品或服务。
What happens if my registration is audited?
如果我的注册被审核会怎样?
You will receive an office action from an audit examiner saying that your registration has been selected for audit. It will identify two additional goods or services for each audited class. You must submit proof of use for each identified good or service. The office action will also identify any issues with the declaration. You must address all issues raised in the office action in your response.您将收到来自审查员的审查意见,说明您的注册商标已被选中进行审核。审查员将为每个类别确定两种额外的商品或服务。您必须为每个额外的商品或服务提交使用证据。审查意见还将确认其他与使用证据有关的问题。您必须在答复中解决审查意见中提出的所有问题。
Will I incur additional fees during the audit?
审核期间会产生额外费用吗?
Maybe. If at any point during the pendency of a Section 8 or 71 declaration of use you delete goods or services from the registration, you must pay a fee of $250 for each class in which you delete goods or services. The fee is due each time you respond by deleting goods or services, even if you previously paid a fee for deleting goods or services in that same class. 有可能。如果在5-6年使用证据和9-10年使用证据被核准前您从注册中删除商品或服务,您必须为您删除商品或服务的每个类别支付250美元的费用。每次您删除商品或服务时都要支付费用,即使您之前已为删除同一类别的商品或服务支付了费用。
In addition, when you delete goods or services from your declaration after you file it, this means that you didn’t accurately list the goods or services with which your trademark is used in commerce as required by the Trademark Act. This renders your declaration deficient, or not in compliance with the act.此外,当您在提交使用宣誓的时候删除商品或服务时,这意味着您的注册商标没有按照商标法的要求准确列出在商业中的商品或服务。这会使您的声明有缺陷,或不符合该法案。Whether you owe a deficiency surcharge is determined by the date when you filed your declaration and the date of your response correcting the deficiency by deleting goods or services. An office action will explain if a deficiency surcharge is required to correct the deficiency in your declaration. 您是否被收取附加费取决于您提交宣誓文件的日期以及您通过删除商品或服务来纠正问题的日期。审查意见将写明是否需要收取附加费来纠正您声明中的问题。If you do not delete goods or services from the registration while your Section 8 or 71 declaration is pending, and there are no other deficiencies in your declaration, no additional fee is due. 如果您在5-6年使用证据和9-10年使用证据被核准前未从注册中删除商品或服务,并且您的申报中没有其他问题,则无需支付额外费用。The best way to avoid incurring any fees is to delete any goods and services promptly if no longer in use between required maintenance filings. Then as you approach the statutory period for submitting your required maintenance filing, confirm that the trademark is in use with each good and service in the registration, and collect specimens and other proof of use. Any good or service that is not in use, and for which nonuse cannot be excused should be deleted from the registration as soon as possible. 避免产生任何费用的最佳方法是,如果在提交5-6年或9-10年使用证据前不再使用的商品或服务,请立即删除。然后,当快到维护期限时,请确认该商标在注册中的每个商品和服务的使用情况,并收集使用证据。任何未使用且没有抗辩理由的商品或服务应尽快删除。
What if I cannot provide proof of use for the audited goods or services?
如果我无法提供指定的商品或服务的使用证据怎么办?
If you cannot provide proof of use for the audited goods or services, your response must delete all goods or services for which you cannot provide proof of use, not just the ones selected for audit. If your response deletes the goods or services being audited and other goods or services remain in the audited class(es) for which you have not provided acceptable proof of use, we will issue a second office action requiring proof of use for all of the remaining goods or services in each audited class for which you have not provided proof of use.如果您无法提供经审核的商品或服务的使用证明,您必须删除您无法提供使用证据的所有商品或服务,而不仅仅是被指定审核的商品或服务。如果您只删除了正在审核的商品或服务,并且其他商品或服务仍属于您未提供可接受的使用证明的已审核类别,我们将发出第二次审查意见,要求提供该商标所有剩余商品或服务的使用证明。Note that if you delete goods or services, you must also pay a fee of $250 for each class in which you delete goods or services. This fee is required each time you delete goods or services, so it is important that you delete all goods or services for which you cannot provide proof of use in your first response rather than deleting them piecemeal in subsequent submissions. 请注意,如果您删除商品或服务,您还必须为您删除商品或服务的每个类别支付250 美元的费用。每次删除商品或服务时都需要支付这笔费用,因此请务必删除无法在第一次答复中提供使用证明的所有商品或服务,而不是在后续提交中逐一删除。
Will I receive a second office action and what are the requirements?
我会收到第二次审查意见吗?有什么要求?
We will issue a second office action if your response does not include acceptable proof of use for any of the audited goods or services or merely deletes them. You must provide proof of use for any goods or services in the audited class(es) that you wish to keep in your registration, along with the deletion fee for each class with deletions and the deficiency surcharge, if required.如果您的答复没有提供被指定的商品或服务的合格使用证据或只删除了被指定产品或服务,我们将发出第二次审查意见。您必须提供您希望在注册中保留的已审核类别中的所有商品或服务的使用证据,并支付每个类别的删除费和附加费(如果有)。To respond to the second office action, you must provide proof of use for all remaining goods or services in the audited class(es) or delete them. If you delete goods or services, you must pay a fee for each class in which you delete goods or services. This fee is required each time you delete goods or services, so it is important that you delete all goods or services for which you cannot provide proof of use in your first response and pay the deletion fee, instead of waiting until you receive a second office action requiring proof of use to delete them. A deficiency surcharge also may be required. 要答复第二次审查意见,您必须提供被指定类别中所有剩余商品或服务的使用证据或将其删除。如果您删除商品或服务,您必须为删除商品或服务的每个类别支付费用。每次删除商品或服务时都需要支付此费用,因此请务必删除您无法在第一次答复中提供使用证明的所有商品或服务并支付删除费用,而不是等到收到第二次审查意见需要使用证据时才将它们删除。删除产品除删除费外还可能收取附加费。If after reviewing your response, there are goods or services remaining in the audited class(es) for which you have not provided acceptable proof of use, we will issue a third and final action. It will advise you of the goods or services for which you have not provided acceptable proof of use, the total amount of any outstanding fees, and will advise that the entire registration will be canceled unless a timely response is submitted, with all required fees, deleting the goods or services for which you have not provided acceptable proof of use in the audited class(es)。如果在审查您的答复时,您仍未提供可接受的使用证据,我们将发出第三次也是最后一次审查意见。它将通知您未提供可接受的使用证明的商品或服务、未付费用的总额,并通知您除非您及时提交答复,支付所有所需的费用,删除您不能提供使用证据的商品或服务,否则您的注册商标将被撤销。
Could I receive a third action?
我可以接受第三次审查意见吗?
Yes, if there are goods or services remaining in your registration in the audited class(es) without acceptable proof of use or you have not paid required fees for deleting goods or services or the deficiency surcharge, if due.是的,如果您在审核类别中的注册中仍有商品或服务没有可接受的使用证明,或者您没有支付删除商品或服务所需的费用或附加费。Summary
随着美国商标注册政策的一次次收紧,申请人注册和维持美国商标会越来越困难,为了让申请人避开不必要的麻烦和额外费用,我们强烈建议申请人在申请美国商标时减少产品或服务的数量,只注册必要的产品或服务,妥善保留商标使用证据,未使用的产品/服务提前注销,及时提交美国5-6年或9-10年 使用证据。
原文来源:美国官网https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/maintain/post-registration-audit-program