My trademark is up for renewal next year. It’s registered in brand registry and we have a store in its name. Just wondered if we dont renew, will amazon be alerted and close our store? Anyone with experience?
Hello @joelmb,
thank you for posting into our forum. A trademark is usually valid for minimum 10 years to prevent someone from being able to hold a mark, which they are no longer using.
Once a trademark has expired, it is not only illegal to continue enforcing its violations using Amazon Brand Registry but you are also risking having someone take it over from you.
I would recommend you to extend the trademark prior to its expiry.
To answer your question, no I don’t think that Amazon will be alerted or close your store. However, in case that you initiate violations and complaints against other sellers, they would have a solid case to have them dismissed and similarly, at that point Amazon would notice the expired mark and could take actions against you.
Why would you not renew your TM? It should be valid for 10 years once you do.
You should be fine as long as no one complains. The best course of action would be to follow @Kika’s advice.
Business is going through a very low patch and have little spare funds to renew it. Simple as that really, sadly.
The TM renewal only costs a few hundred of bucks. Try to agree a payment plan with your attorney or maybe get a small loan.
You could also try to sell the TM to a different company and make a good deal out of it.