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[Gregz]

I have found a few dead trademarks that I would like to use as brand names of a new product.  

Is there any risk of using these "dead trademark" names now?  I

Thanks,
Greg

[Isaac]

Dead means a dead registration rather than a dead mark.  A trademark might be still in use although unregistered.   When you use such a mark you run the risk of not being able to use the mark even if you are successful in registering it.

[Gregz]

Thank you.

[Gregz]

So, how do you know if you can use a "Dead Trademark"?

[Isaac]

So, how do you know if you can use a "Dead Trademark"?

A trademark search of the type an attorney would conduct as part of providing registration services would be one way.

[JSonnabend]

Trademark attorneys can run a clearance search for you to help gauge the risk of using a mark.  Usually, these searches include both the federal registration database as well as state registration databases and common law usage databases.  I run these searches, as do other attorneys here.

- Jeff

[suresh k]

I am looking at a trademark (at USPTO site) whose registration was cancelled. Is the procedure for registering such a trademark any different than registering a trademark that was never registered. Is there a way to find out why that particular trademark was cancelled.

[JSonnabend]

You can first look at the registration's status in TARR, which may provide information on why it was cancelled.  If it was subject to a cancellation proceeding in recent years, the TTAB's online system (I can't think of its acronym right now) would have all the details.  You can also look at the file wrapper, again assuming it's a recent registration, using the TDR system.  All this is availabe directly from the TESS detail screen.

I know that's a lot of alphabet soup, but these systems contain a lot of information.

- Jeff

[Shelby Dover]

What can you do if you previously registered a trademark, but never reapplied after the 5th year? Do you have to register all over again?

[JSonnabend]

If you fall outside the six month grace period, you'll need to refile.  For the sake of accuracy, the section 8 & 15 filings in the fifth year are not "reapplications", they're affidavits of continued use and incontestability.

- Jeff

[Jeff H]

What if TESS states the trademark is dead and for "Goods and Services" it says (ABANDONED).  It has an Abandonment Date of September 1999.  Would I be able to register this trademark successfully?

Thanks,
Jeff H