Recently the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the
"TTAB") decided TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. v. Jeffrey
E. Martin, Can. No. 92068042 (TTAB Dec. 7, 2018) using the
expedited cancellation procedure that is the subject of a current
pilot program at the TTAB. The rationale for exploring the
expedited procedure is to protect the integrity of the US PTO
register. In that sense, the expedited cancellation procedure is
akin to the "streamlined cancellation proceeding" the
TTAB explored a year or two ago (and which we
discussed here). Consideration of the streamlined cancellation
proceeding is on hold pending exploration of the pilot program for
the expedited cancellation procedure.
Unlike the streamlined cancellation proceeding, the TTAB
initiates the process for expedited cancellation procedure. To do
this, the TTAB identifies cancellation cases that have not
concluded in default and in which the only claims are abandonment
and/or non-use. Once candidate cases are
