This event has passed, but a recording is posted above. The presentation slides are also available for download. For more information, please visit our Trademark Modernization Act page.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA).
We’re holding two virtual roundtables to field questions and hear informal public input on the NPRM.
The first roundtable is on Tuesday, June 1, from 1-3 p.m. ET. The roundtable is open to all. If you’re unable to attend, a recording of the event will be posted to the USPTO website within two weeks of its conclusion. A second roundtable is scheduled for June 14.
We invite any member of the public to attend to hear an overview of the NPRM and ask questions during a time-allotted portion of the roundtable. If you prefer, you can email us your questions ahead of time, and we'll answer them during the roundtable.
You may attend both roundtables if you wish, but in order to allow everyone a speaking opportunity, please only sign up to speak at one. Please indicate when registering if you would like to speak and the particular issue in the NPRM that you plan to address. We’ll accommodate as many speakers as possible.
To facilitate an efficient discussion, we’ll email attendees the streaming link and agenda the week prior to the roundtable. Attendees who signed up to speak will be notified of their speaking order and provided instructions.
These roundtables are an opportunity for the public to ask questions or provide informal input that will be heard by USPTO leadership. If you want to get clarity on a certain aspect of the TMA, these roundtables are for you.
To provide formal comments on the NPRM that will be part of the official record and reviewed and responded to in the final rulemaking, please submit them at www.regulations.gov by July 19. For a summary and link to the full NPRM, as well as details on submitting formal comments, check out our TMA webpage.
For questions or information about this event, please email us.
Agenda
1:00 p.m. - Opening remarks: David Gooder, Commissioner for Trademarks
1:05 p.m. - Trademark Modernization Act notice of proposed rulemaking overview: Amy Cotton, Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy
1:20 p.m. - Pre-registered public questions and comments
Speaking order
1. Augusto Perera
2. David Rome
3. Nzengha Waseme
4. James Faier
5. Sylvia Esparza
1:40 p.m. - Floor opens for audience questions and comments
USPTO panel
Amy Cotton, Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy
Dan Vavonese, Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations
Robert Lavache, Senior Trademark Legal Policy Advisor
Gerard Rogers, Chief Administrative Trademark Judge
2:50 p.m. - Closing remarks: Gerard Rogers, Chief Administrative Trademark Judge
TMA background information
The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 was signed into law on December 27, 2020, and gives the USPTO and trademark owners additional tools to reduce trademark clutter and better protect the integrity of the U.S trademark register. In particular, the TMA:
- Codifies procedures that allow third parties to submit evidence during the examination of trademark applications.
- Gives the USPTO authority to shorten response deadlines in order to move applications more quickly through the system.
- Establishes new registration cancellation mechanisms, namely expungement and reexamination, so that third parties or the USPTO Director may challenge registrations that are not in use as required by the statute.
Visit our TMA page for more information.