Is a trademark that has not been used still valid?
The fees for 10 years are paid contextually to the filing of a trademark application. Usually, for all this period, there are neither other formalities to be carried out nor other fees to be paid. However, in the time from starting to the granting of it, there might be some communications by the Italian Patents and Trademarks Office to be replied within a suitable time, and after a certain time (on average 3 / 4 years) we get the registration certificate.
To establish if a trademark is valid, we must first find out the exact date of the deposit, but if it was less than 10 years, the mark should still be valid now, unless the Italian Patents and Trademarks Office notified us the intention of not registering it and we did not make any opposition. The mark falls away for failing to actually use it within 5 years from the deposit date, but to “cancel” it a specific legal action must be promoted to ascertain the failed use and consequently discontinuing the mark.
Thus should the trademark have not been used for 5 years, but we have not undergone any such actions, our trademarks could be re-activated and, further to its new utilisation, overrule the period of past inactivity.