Registration of a mark hereunder shall be effective for a term of 10 years from the date of registration and shall be renewable for successive terms of 10 years upon application filed within six months prior to the expiration of any term. A renewal fee of thirty-five dollars ($35.00), payable to the Secretary, shall accompany the application for renewal of the registration. Within six months following the expiration of a term of five years from the date of registration, or the last renewal of registration of the mark, the applicant shall submit a specimen showing evidence of current use of the mark and a signed statement verifying the use of such mark on a form to be furnished by the Secretary of State. Use of the form furnished by the Secretary of State is mandatory. Failure to submit this verification and specimen showing evidence of current use shall be grounds for cancellation of the registration of the mark by the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State shall notify registrants of marks hereunder of the necessity of renewal within the year next preceding the expiration of the 10 years from the date of registration, by writing to the last known address of the registrants.
The Secretary of State shall notify registrants of marks hereunder of the necessity of submitting evidence of current use of the mark after five years from the date of registration or of the last renewal of registration of the mark, by writing to the last known address of the registrants within the year preceding the due date for such submission.
Registration of marks applied for under previous acts shall be continued in force for the full 10-year term without the necessity of submitting evidence of current use of the mark during the term.
All applications for renewals under this Article, whether of registrations made under this Article or of registrations effected under any prior act, shall be filed with the Secretary in a format prescribed by the Secretary specifying the information called for by G.S. 80-3 and shall include a statement that the mark is still in use in this State, setting forth those goods or services recited in the registration in connection with which the mark is still in use. The registration shall be renewed only as to the goods and services. (1967, c. 1007, s. 1; 1991, c. 626, s. 5; 1997-476, s. 7.)
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Last modified: March 23, 2014