In June 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
("USPTO") proposed streamlined cancellation procedures in
an effort to save practitioners and trademark owners both time and
money. In January 2019, that vision became a reality when the USPTO
announced the launch of its Expedited Cancellation Pilot Program
(the "Pilot Program"). The program—which is limited
to cancellation proceedings based on abandonment or
nonuse—combines the current cancellation process with
existing Accelerated Case Resolution ("ACR") procedures.
Through this Pilot Program, the USPTO hopes to study how these
pre-existing ACR mechanisms can help streamline cancellation
proceedings.
ACR is an expedited alternative to a traditional cancellation or
opposition proceeding that involves full discovery, trial, and
briefing. Introduced in 2007 when the Trademark Trial and Appeal
Board (TTAB) amended its rules to adopt a mandatory disclosure
model similar to the one used by U.S. federal courts,