A federal trademark registration in the United States lasts ten years from the registration date, and you can renew it for another ten years, again and again, with no upper limit. Unlike a patent or a copyright, a trademark has no natural expiry date. It lasts as long as you keep using it and keep filing on time.
That is the whole answer. The rest of this page is about the two conditions attached to it: use, and the maintenance filings.
The Maintenance Timeline
Every United States registration has a fixed rhythm of filings. Miss the window, including the grace period, and the registration is canceled, so these dates belong in a calendar the day your certificate arrives.
| When | Filing | What it does | USPTO fee per class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 5 to 6 | Section 8 Declaration of Use | Proves you are still using the trademark | $325 |
| Years 5 to 6 | Section 8 filed together with Section 15 | Declaration of use plus a claim to incontestability | $575 |
| Years 9 to 10 | Section 8 plus Section 9 renewal | Proves use and renews the registration | $650 |
| Every 10 years after that | Section 8 plus Section 9 renewal | Same again | $650 |
A six-month grace period follows each deadline, with a surcharge. Fees shown are USPTO fees only, per class. Professional fees are separate. For what we charge to handle the filing, see our renewal service.
For what goes into these two filings, and whether incontestability is worth claiming, see our guide to Section 8 and Section 15 declarations. For the full deadline calendar including grace periods, see trademark renewal deadlines and costs.
What It Costs to Keep a Registration Alive
Over thirty years, a single-class registration goes through four maintenance events.
| Timeframe | 1 class | 3 classes |
|---|---|---|
| Years 5 to 6 (Section 8 plus 15) | $575 | $1,725 |
| Years 9 to 10 (Section 8 plus 9) | $650 | $1,950 |
| Years 19 to 20 (Section 8 plus 9) | $650 | $1,950 |
| Years 29 to 30 (Section 8 plus 9) | $650 | $1,950 |
| 30-year total, USPTO fees only | $2,525 | $7,575 |
That is a small standing cost for a right that can outlive the business that created it.
Other Countries Run on Ten-Year Terms Too
The ten-year cycle is close to universal, though the maintenance rules differ.
- European Union: an EU trademark runs ten years from filing and renews in ten-year blocks. There is no separate declaration of use, but a trademark can be revoked if it is not genuinely used for five years.
- United Kingdom: ten-year terms, renewable, with the same five-year non-use exposure.
- India: ten-year terms, renewable under the Trade Marks Act.
- China: ten-year terms, renewable, with a renewal window before expiry and a grace period after it.
The United States is the outlier in asking you to prove use midway through the first term. Everywhere else, use is tested only if someone challenges you. If you own trademarks in several countries, our renewal service tracks the dates in one place.
What Ends a Trademark
Missed Maintenance Deadlines
The most common cause. If a Section 8 declaration is not filed within the window or the six-month grace period, the registration is canceled. Getting it back afterwards is limited and uncertain, which is why the calendar matters more than the fee.
Non-Use
Under United States law, a trademark is presumed abandoned after three consecutive years of non-use with no intent to resume. This applies whether or not you filed your maintenance paperwork. A registration that is kept current on paper but has no use behind it is vulnerable.
Citation: 15 U.S.C. section 1127.
Genericization
When a trademark becomes the ordinary name for the product category, it stops working as one. Aspirin, escalator, thermos, and zipper all started as brand names. The defenses are simple and boring: use the trademark as an adjective in front of the product noun, never as a verb, and police unauthorized use.
Naked Licensing
If you license the trademark to someone else and do not keep control over the quality of what they sell under it, the trademark can be treated as abandoned. A trademark is a promise about source and consistency, and licensing without quality control breaks the promise.
Common-Law Rights Compared With a Registration
| Aspect | Unregistered trademark | Federal registration |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | As long as you use it | Indefinite, with maintenance filings |
| Maintenance filings | None | Section 8 and Section 9 |
| Geographic scope | The area you trade in | Nationwide |
| What ends it | Non-use | Non-use or a missed maintenance filing |
For the full comparison, see common law trademark rights vs federal registration.
How Trademarks Compare With Other IP
| IP type | Duration | Renewable |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark | Indefinite | Yes, every 10 years |
| Utility patent | 20 years from filing | No, but maintenance fees are due during the term |
| Design patent | 15 years from grant | No |
| Copyright | Life of the author plus 70 years | No |
| Trade secret | Indefinite while it stays secret | Not applicable |
A trademark is the only registered right here that can last forever, which is what makes an old registration one of the more valuable things a business owns.
Key Takeaways
- Ten years per term in the United States, renewable without limit.
- The first deadline is years 5 to 6: the Section 8 declaration, often filed together with Section 15.
- Renewals are every ten years, as a combined Section 8 and Section 9 filing.
- Budget roughly $650 per class every ten years in USPTO fees, plus the earlier Section 8 filing.
- Three years of non-use creates a presumption of abandonment, whatever your paperwork says.
- Most other countries also run ten-year renewable terms, without the midterm use filing.
