Effective July 8, 2017, new rules went into effect regarding revival of abandoned applications, reinstatement of abandoned applications and cancelled or expired registrations, and petitions to the director. [1]

The rules have two goals:

1. Identify the existing deadlines and requirements for filing a petition to revive, petition to the director, and request for reinstatement; and
2. Promote the integrity of the Trademark database by generally not reinstating or reviving applications or registrations more than six months after they have abandoned, cancelled, or expired.

Thus, if you receive a notice of abandonment, you must file a petition to revive your application within two months of the issue date of the notice. If no notice was received, you will have two months from when you first became aware of the abandonment but no later than six months after the date of the electronic record in the Trademark Office of the abandonment. If you do file later than this six month period, you can request that the Director, via a petition, to waive the timeliness rule in cases of extraordinary circumstances. Guidance has been provided as to what would qualify as an extraordinary circumstance in the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) §1708.

Thus, if you receive a notice of abandonment, you must take timely action.

[1] 82 Fed. Reg. 29401

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