A new bill passed by the U.S. Congress will make it easier for Trademark owners to maintain protection of their Trademarks.  It will harmonize the system at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for submitting maintenance filings, which must be completed to continue protection of a mark.  This will make the process simpler for Trademark owners and help to eliminate some inefficiencies and unnecessary costs.  The legislation will also authorize the Director of the USPTO to allow applicants to correct good faith and harmless errors.

The bill (Trademark Law Technical and Conforming Amendments Act S. 2968, H.R. 4515, 3/4/2010) was passed by the U.S. Senate on January 28, 2010 and by the House of Representatives on March 3, 2010, and will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.