On December 27, 2020, the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 was enacted under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
The act includes several amendments to the Lanham Act of 1946, including: 1) an ex parte reexamination proceeding and an ex parte expungement proceeding for unused trademarks, 2) “a uniform rule that establishes a rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm for plaintiffs seeking injunctive relief” for trademark infringement, 3) a formal procedure for proffering a “Letter of Protest” for a pending trademark application, and 4) a rule allowing examiners “to set shorter response times for office actions.”
