Proof of use: stages and deadlines
Proof of use becomes relevant once an earlier mark is challenged for non-use, or raised as a defence inside opposition and cancellation proceedings. The process runs in fixed stages: a request, an evidence window, an assessment, and a decision. Missing the deadline is usually fatal to the mark itself, not only to the evidence submitted late.
What changes in practice
Once a request for proof of use lands, the burden shifts to the mark owner. Silence or a thin file is read as non-use for the goods or services in question. The clock starts running from the date the office issues the request, not from the date the challenge was filed, and the owner cannot simply wait for a renewal to reset the position.
The practical risk is narrower than it looks. A mark can survive for some goods and fall for others, which is why the evidence needs to be sorted by class before the file goes anywhere near a submission.
Stages at a glance
| Stage | What happens | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Request for proof | Challenger or examiner asks for evidence of genuine use | Challenger / office |
| Evidence window | Owner submits evidence within the window set by the office | Mark owner |
| Assessment | Case handler reviews scope, extent, and genuineness of the use shown | Office |
| Decision | Mark upheld in full, upheld in part, or found not used | Office, or the appeal board |
What to do
- Owner or counsel: log the deadline the moment the request arrives. Extensions exist but are not automatic.
- Brand or sales team: pull invoices, catalogues, packaging, and dated marketing showing the mark as registered, not a variant of it.
- Finance: confirm the figures tie to the relevant period and the relevant territory, not an adjacent year or a neighbouring market.
- Counsel of record: file the bundle within the set window, with a short cover note tying each document to a specific class.
- Owner: watch for the other side's reply and prepare a rebuttal only where the office's rules for that stage allow one.
- Counsel: track the decision date and the appeal route before assuming the file is closed.
Who decides
For an EU-wide mark, the case handler within the office responsible for the register examines the request, with an internal appeal board reviewing contested outcomes. For a national mark, the decision sits with the corresponding national office, or with the court already seized of the dispute if litigation has started first. The deadline itself is set by the office at the point the request is issued, and it is not negotiated case by case.
Where the paths split
If you are the mark owner and the request has just arrived, start gathering evidence immediately rather than in the final stretch of the window. Evidence assembled under pressure tends to miss the territorial or class split the assessment looks for.
If you are the challenger and nothing arrives by the deadline, the mark is treated as not used for the goods in question, and the underlying opposition or cancellation typically proceeds on that basis.
If the use record sits with a third party rather than in-house — a distributor, a licensee, or a supplier — a separate question can surface about who is exposed if that party is later accused of infringing a mark held by someone else: see A supplier is accused of infringing a third party.
If the mark appears on goods distributed together with software under open licensing terms, the use evidence and the licensing position need separate handling: see Open source compliance review.
If the use record depends on a change already under way in your supply chain, that change carries its own procedural checklist before it feeds into a proof-of-use file: see Supply change procedure: what the decision maker looks at.
What this page does not cover
This page sets out the stages and the logic of the deadline. It does not fix the exact number of days for a given office, since that sits in office-specific rules rather than in a general walkthrough, and it does not replace a register check for the specific mark at issue. Where the question moves from a legal narrative to a factual mapping of what exists on a specific asset, the exercise looks different: see how that is structured for a single asset in Asset in Bulgaria in detail.
Verified
Checked: 4 June 2025. This page describes the stages and logic of proof-of-use requests as they run in practice before trade mark offices and their appeal bodies. It does not cite statutory provisions, since procedural walkthroughs on this site are kept separate from the register of legal norms by design.
Related reading
A related withdrawal route runs on a similar clock: see How surrender and partial surrender trade mark runs in for the stages when a mark is given up rather than defended.
FAQ
How long does proof of use take in practice?
The office sets the evidence window once the request is issued, and the overall timeline usually runs from a few months, depending on extensions granted and the volume of evidence submitted. There is no single fixed figure across offices.
Which documents are needed to start?
Dated invoices, catalogues, packaging, and marketing material showing the mark as registered, tied to the relevant goods and the relevant territory. Sworn statements can support the file but rarely stand alone.
What happens if the other side does not respond?
If the mark owner files nothing within the window, the mark is treated as not used for the goods concerned, and the challenge or the underlying proceeding typically moves forward on that footing.
If a mark of yours has just been copied and you need a first move rather than a full brief, see When a design is copied by a competitor and.