Due to recent United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decisions and case law in the U.S., the need for complete accuracy in all Statements of Use has become critical. Whenever a trademark owner declares 'use' of a mark -- whether at the time of filing a trademark application, after allowance, or at the time of proving use after registration -- the mark MUST be used on ALL of the goods and/or services listed. Otherwise, the registration becomes vulnerable, perhaps permanently, to being cancelled for fraud on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Although the issue is not entirely clear, current decisions suggest that even voluntarily amending a Statement of Use or a registration to delete items for which use has not been made may not cure this vulnerability.

Robyn S. Lederman

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