In short
If the USPTO abandoned your trademark application because you missed a deadline unintentionally, you may be able to revive it by filing a petition. The USPTO says to file within two months of the Notice of Abandonment, or at most six months after the abandonment date if you never received it, with a signed statement and the petition fee.
What abandoned means, and what it does not
The USPTO says that when an application is abandoned it is no longer live and cannot mature into a registration. That can happen for several reasons, for example if you missed the deadline to respond to an office action. The USPTO sends a Notice of Abandonment, and you can also see the status in TSDR, its Trademark Status and Document Retrieval system. (USPTO: Reviving an abandoned application)
It is a procedural outcome, not a verdict on your brand. If you still want the registration, the USPTO says you may be able to revive the application by filing a petition. See abandonment in the glossary for the short definition.
The clock is short
The USPTO's deadline for a missed office action response is two months from the issue date of the Notice of Abandonment. If you never received the notice, the petition is due within two months of learning of the abandonment and no later than six months after the abandonment date shown in TSDR. (USPTO: Reviving an abandoned application)
Check the status of any application you own today, and look at the date. That date decides which route is still open.
The status code in TSDR tells you what stage you are at. Status code 602 is abandonment for failure to respond, and status code 612 is the stage after a petition to revive has been received.
What a petition for a missed office action must include
For an unintentionally missed office action deadline, the USPTO lists these items. A statement that the delay was unintentional, signed by someone with first-hand knowledge of the facts. The petition fee, which is paid to the USPTO and listed on its fee schedule. A statement saying whether you received the office action. (USPTO: Reviving an abandoned application)
If you did receive the office action, the USPTO also requires a complete response to it, signed by the applicant or an authorized attorney. If the office action was final, you must include either a notice of appeal or a statement that you are not filing an appeal.
If you did not receive it, the USPTO says the office action will be reissued with a new response period if the petition is granted. You can only claim once that you did not receive a particular office action.
Other kinds of abandonment follow different rules
The right form depends on the reason for abandonment. The USPTO describes separate routes for a missed Statement of Use or extension request, a partial refusal, an incomplete response, and abandonment caused by a USPTO error. Read your Notice of Abandonment first, because it states the reason.
One limit worth knowing: for a Statement of Use, the USPTO says that if you do not file within three years after the Notice of Allowance, the application is abandoned and you will not be able to revive it.
If the application has been abandoned for more than six months, the USPTO says you cannot use the petition to revive form and recommends a new application. A request on a different form is possible only in very limited, extraordinary circumstances, and the USPTO says those petitions are rarely granted.
What happens after you file
The USPTO says it will tell you whether the petition is granted, dismissed, denied or incomplete. If it is granted, examination continues where it left off. If it is incomplete, you get a deficiency letter saying what is missing.
If a petition is denied and you still want a registration, you can ask for reconsideration only with new facts, or file a new application and pay the filing fee again.
Not sure where your application stands? A free brand audit is a no-pressure way to look at your options. The Office Action deadline article explains why the date on the letter matters so much. This is general information, not legal advice about your application.
Frequently asked questions
Sometimes. The USPTO says that if your application is abandoned and you still want a registration, you may be able to revive it by filing a petition. Which form applies depends on why it was abandoned.
For a missed office action, the USPTO says to file no later than two months after the issue date of the Notice of Abandonment. If you never received the notice, file within two months of learning of the abandonment and no later than six months after the abandonment date in TSDR.
The USPTO requires a statement that the delay in responding was unintentional, signed by someone with first-hand knowledge of the facts. Whether your situation qualifies is a fact-specific question for you or an attorney.
If you received it, yes. The USPTO requires a complete response signed by the applicant or an authorized attorney with the petition. If you did not receive it, the USPTO says it will be reissued with a new response period if the petition is granted.
The USPTO says you cannot file the petition to revive form and recommends filing a new application. Revival on a different form is possible only in very limited, extraordinary circumstances and is rarely granted.
No. The petition fee is a government fee paid to the USPTO, and the current amount is on the USPTO fee schedule.
No. My Trademark Vault is an independent service and is not affiliated with the USPTO. Any government fee is paid to the USPTO.
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This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Trademark outcomes depend on the specific facts of each application.