By François Deschamps – Tmark, Intellectual Property Attorney

The USPTO (the American trademark office) system for protection differs quite appreciably from the practice in so-called Roman law.

If we start with the European example, a trademark must be exploited within five years from the date its registration is published. Bearing in mind that an EU trademark can take between 18 months and five years to be submitted for registration, the owner has a comfortable time period in which to put his rights into operation.

The American conception is especially rigorous, for it is based on proven use; in other words, a trademark can be registered only if it is proven to have serious and related use for each of the products and services asserted, and the rights are maintained (at the time of renewal, in particular) by producing proof of exploitation.

Applicants must therefore pay particular attention when registering, to claim only the products and services for which they have very serious and imminent projects, keeping in mind they can always make additional registrations later if they prove necessary.