Removal of Trademarks for Non-Use

Although there are a few exceptions, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) generally requires that a trade mark applicant provides evidence that the mark has actually been used in the USA before the certificate of registration can actually issue.  Another country that has a similar requirement is Canada.  In addition to providing evidence of use before registration, some countries also require that evidence of use be provided at some stage after registration, usually before the registration can be renewed. You'll be interested to learn that in Australia there's no requirement that an applicant must show evidence of actual use, either before registration or renewal of an Australian trade  mark. Although there's no requirement to show evidence of use there is a mechanism for third parties to apply for removal of a trade mark registration if they believe that the owner of the trade mark, or its authorized user, hasn't been using the trade mark.  The baseline requirements for a non-use removal application are that the registration in question must have been in force for at least five years and that it hasn't been used as a trademark in the preceding three years.