Section 8 Declaration of Excusable Nonuse

a sworn statement, filed by the owner of a registration, that the mark is not in use in commerce due to special circumstances that excuse such nonuse and is not due to any intention to abandon the mark. Section 8 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1058. It must be filed by the current owner of the registration and the USPTO must receive it during the following time periods: 1) At the end of the 6th year after the date of registration (or the date of publication under 15 U.S.C. �1062(c) for registrations issued under the Acts of 1905 or 1881 that have claimed the benefits of the Act of 1946), AND 2) At the end of each successive 10-year period after the date of registration. There is a six-month grace period. If these rules and deadlines are not met, the USPTO will cancel the registration. Once the USPTO accepts the Section 8 Declaration of Excusable Nonuse, the owner of the registration is not required to file another Section 8 Declaration until the next statutory filing period.

-- see File a §8 Declaration