On Wednesday, November 17, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a final rule in the Federal Register in which the agency officially amended its rules of practice to implement the terms of the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA), including the establishment of new ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings for challenging trademarks as well as new grounds for nonuse in challenging registered marks at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

On December 27, 2020, the TMA became law after it passed Congress and was signed by the President as part of the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021. The TMA, which will become effective one year after its signature into law, introduces significant amendments to the Lanham Act designed to modernize trademark examination procedures and combat the increasing numbers of trademark registrations covering marks not used in commerce.