When the USPTO lists a trademark application as “abandoned,” the application has stopped moving toward registration, usually because the applicant missed a deadline. In most cases, an applicant can ask the USPTO to revive it by filing a petition to revive within two months of the notice of abandonment and showing that the delay was unintentional. If that window closes, the usual fix is a new application with a new filing date.
This guide explains why applications go abandoned, how to confirm the status in TSDR, how the petition to revive works under 37 C.F.R. § 2.66, what it costs, and what to do if revival is not available.
What “Abandoned” Means for a Trademark Application
An abandoned application is no longer pending. The USPTO will not examine it further, it will not register, and it generally stops blocking later applications for similar marks. Examining attorneys often suspend a later-filed conflicting application while an earlier one is pending; once the earlier application is abandoned, the later one can move forward.
Application abandonment is different from abandonment of trademark rights. Rights are abandoned when an owner stops using a mark with intent not to resume use, or when the owner’s conduct causes the mark to lose its significance as a brand. If you have been using your mark in commerce, an abandoned application does not by itself erase your common-law rights. It only means you lose that application and the benefits it would have produced. Our article on abandonment of trademark rights covers the other kind.
Why Trademark Applications Become Abandoned
Missed office action response
This is the most common cause. For applications based on use or intent to use (Section 1) or a foreign filing (Section 44), the response period is three months from the office action’s issue date. Applicants can buy one three-month extension, to a maximum of six months, by filing a request and a $125 fee before the original deadline. Applications that arrived through the Madrid Protocol (Section 66(a)) generally get six months. If no complete response is filed in time, the application is abandoned.
An incomplete response can also cause abandonment, in full or as to particular goods or classes. If an office action refuses registration because of a prior mark, our articles on options after a trademark refusal and what to do when a trademark is already registered by someone else explain the choices.
Missed statement of use or extension
Intent-to-use applications that survive examination and opposition receive a notice of allowance. The applicant then has six months to file a statement of use proving the mark is in use, or to request a six-month extension. Extensions can be requested in six-month increments, but the statement of use cannot be filed more than 36 months after the notice of allowance issued. Missing any of these deadlines abandons the application.
Other causes
- An applicant expressly abandons the application, for example after rebranding.
- The applicant does not answer a notice of opposition at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and the Board enters judgment against the application.
- Required fees or signatures are missing and not corrected in time.
How to Check Your Application Status in TSDR
The USPTO’s Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system shows each application’s status, the status date and the full prosecution history, including the office action or notice that started the missed deadline and the notice of abandonment itself. The TSDR status date matters because it sets the outer limit for revival when no notice was received.
USPTO rules make applicants responsible for monitoring their own filings. Under 37 C.F.R. § 2.23(d), applicants must check status at least every six months between filing and registration. An applicant who waits longer and then discovers an old abandonment may find the revival window has closed.
How to Revive an Abandoned Trademark Application
Under 37 C.F.R. § 2.66, an applicant may petition to revive an application abandoned for failure to respond to an office action or notice of allowance if the delay was unintentional.
Deadlines
- Notice received: no later than two months after the issue date of the notice of abandonment.
- Notice not received: no later than two months after you actually learned of the abandonment, and no later than six months after the date TSDR shows the application as abandoned. You must declare that you did not receive the notice.
The six-month outer limit is firm. The TMEP explains that it protects third parties who search the register and rely on an abandoned application staying abandoned. Petitions and requests for reinstatement filed more than six months after the electronic record shows the abandonment are denied.
What the petition must include
- The petition fee, currently $250 when filed electronically.
- A statement, signed by someone with firsthand knowledge of the facts, that the delay was unintentional. It does not need to be verified or explain the circumstances.
- For a missed office action: a complete response, or a statement that you did not receive the office action. If the original deadline was three months and you are not claiming non-receipt, you must also pay the $125 extension fee.
- For a missed statement of use: the statement of use or an extension request, plus the fees for every extension request you should have filed had the application stayed alive. If you never received the notice of allowance, you may instead ask the USPTO to cancel it and issue a new one.
- If the abandonment followed a final office action: a notice of appeal, a petition if permitted, or a statement that no appeal or petition is being filed.
The unintentional delay standard
The standard is lenient. The USPTO generally accepts the applicant’s statement unless the record shows the delay was intentional, such as a deliberate decision to let the application lapse followed by a change of mind. An applicant may claim non-receipt of a particular office action or notice only once.
If the USPTO made the error
If you filed a timely response and the USPTO abandoned the application anyway, the right filing is a request for reinstatement under 37 C.F.R. § 2.64(a), not a petition to revive. Keep your filing receipts as proof, and note that the same six-month outer limit applies.
The USPTO’s reviving an abandoned application page links to the TEAS forms for each situation.
What Happens After Revival and If Revival Fails
A granted petition returns the application to pending status with its original filing date, and examination picks up where it stopped. The examining attorney reviews the response and either approves the application or issues a further action. Miss the next deadline and the application is abandoned again.
If the USPTO denies the petition, the applicant may request reconsideration within two months of the decision and must pay a second petition fee. If revival is unavailable, the applicant must file a new application and pay a new filing fee, which is currently $350 per class for an electronic application.
Refiling costs more than money. The new application gets a new filing date, so any conflicting application filed while yours was abandoned may be examined ahead of yours and could block it. If you have been using the mark, your common-law rights remain and may support an opposition or cancellation, but those proceedings take longer and cost more than a timely response would have.
Preventing Abandonment
- Docket every deadline in an office action or notice of allowance, including the extension deadline.
- Keep a current, monitored correspondence email address on file with the USPTO.
- Check TSDR at least every six months, as USPTO rules require.
- Make sure the person responding has enough time to address every refusal and requirement; a partial response can still lead to abandonment.
Get Help With an Abandoned Trademark Application
Revival deadlines are short, and the response filed with the petition must fully address whatever caused the abandonment. Revision Legal’s trademark registration attorneys prepare petitions to revive, office action responses, statements of use and new applications for clients nationwide. If your application was just abandoned, contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474. For a sense of fees, see how much trademark lawyers cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does abandoned mean on a trademark application?
It means the application is no longer pending and will not proceed to registration unless it is revived. Most abandonments happen because the applicant missed a deadline, such as an office action response or a statement of use. TSDR shows the status and the date the record was updated, and the USPTO usually issues a notice of abandonment.
How long do I have to revive an abandoned trademark application?
File the petition to revive within two months after the issue date of the notice of abandonment. If you never received the notice, you have two months from when you actually learned of the abandonment, but no later than six months after the date TSDR shows the application as abandoned. After that outer limit, revival is generally unavailable.
How much does a petition to revive a trademark cost?
The USPTO fee for a petition to revive filed electronically is $250. If the missed deadline was a three-month office action response, you generally must also pay the $125 extension fee. Statement-of-use cases require the fees for any extension requests you should have filed. Attorney fees for preparing the response are separate.
Can I file a new application instead of reviving?
Yes. A new application is the only option once the revival window closes, and sometimes it is simpler. The trade-off is the filing date: the new application gets a new date, so any conflicting application filed in the meantime may be examined ahead of yours. Check the register before deciding.
Is an abandoned application the same as an abandoned trademark?
No. An abandoned application is a procedural status at the USPTO. Abandonment of trademark rights happens when the owner stops using the mark with intent not to resume, or lets it lose its meaning as a brand. You can lose the application and still hold common-law rights from actual use.
