What leads to the abandonment of a trademark application?

The abandonment of a trademark application occurs when an applicant fails to respond to a Notice of Allowance. After a trademark application is examined and approved by the USPTO, a Notice of Allowance is issued if the application moves forward. This notice indicates that the applicant can proceed with the next steps in the registration process, typically requiring them to file a Statement of Use within a specified time frame.

If the applicant does not respond to the Notice of Allowance by filing this Statement of Use, or if they fail to show that they are using the trademark in commerce, the application will be considered abandoned. This means that the applicant loses their chance to register the trademark unless they can revive the application under specific circumstances.

Other scenarios, such as failing to pay filing fees, submitting renewal documents, or updating ownership information, involve different procedures and consequences but do not directly relate to the initial abandonment of a trademark application. Each of those situations pertains to either maintenance of a registered mark or the application process rather than the specific step associated with the Notice of Allowance.