I suppose we should have a list of questions to ask Tony at one time if people have them. I'll start...

Are the fees for the marks filed every 5 or 10 years? I'm a little unclear when viewing: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/postreg_nonmadrid_timeline.jsp

Are the incontestability affidavits a one time thing or do they get renewed at some point?

Cheers,
Josh


On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 2:49 PM, Bryce Harrington <bryce@...2...> wrote:
Opinions?

----- Forwarded message from Tony Sebro <tony@...41...> -----

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 17:25:15 -0400
From: Tony Sebro <tony@...41...>
To: "inkscape@...41..." <inkscape@...41...>
Subject: affidavits to maintain & strengthen registration of the Inkscape trademarks

Hi, all: FYI, I will be filing affidavits required to maintain the
registration of the Inkscape trademarks[1] with the USPTO. The affidavit
filing fees amount to $100/registered mark, or $300, and are required to
maintain the registrations.

I would also strongly recommend filing affidavits of incontestability
for each of the marks as well. Basically, we'd be asserting that:
- the marks have been in continuous use for 5 years
- there are no pending legal challenges to the marks
- there have been no final decisions adverse to our claim of ownership
of the marks.

The incontestability affidavits would strengthen the presumption of
validity of the marks, and render them immune to certain challenges. The
USPTO charges an additional $200 per affidavit, so the total cost would
now be (3*200) + (3*100) = $900.  If that seems pricey, we could
consider only filing the incontestability affidavits for only a subset
of the marks (e.g., just the "Inkscape" literal mark).

I will plan to file the maintenance affidavits either way.  How would
you like me to proceed re: the incontestability affidavits? Please
advise/confirm.

Best, -Tony

[1] as a reminder, the three registered marks are:  the "Inkscape"
literal mark (i.e., the word itself); the "ink mountain" logo; and the
"Draw Freely" slogan.

--
Tony Sebro, General Counsel, Software Freedom Conservancy
+1-212-461-3245 x11
tony@...41...
www.sfconservancy.org

----- End forwarded message -----

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