WARNING: major trademark nerd content to follow… only those seriously interested in quality assurance need read on!

Seriously, we’re here to share a tip that may help you spot anomalies in your trademark portfolio, thus saving money… and heartache… and priority battles… later on. Here goes: We all know that it’s important to generate and review docket reports listing upcoming filing deadlines. (We like weekly meetings for that purpose.) But it’s often a good idea to add the following to the mix: produce and review a spreadsheet that lists your active registrations and applications in alphabetical order by country, then by mark. Like this:

…and so on. Depending on how large and active your portfolio is, you may want to do this at least quarterly.

Why? It helps you detect patterns: “Hmm, all those applications were filed in country X on the same day, but only one remains pending. Why?” You might need to ask local counsel that question. In so doing, you might be able to preserve an application that could have inadvertently lapsed.

Reviewing the spreadsheet will also help you spot gaps in coverage (“Why is that mark registered in India but not even pending in Pakistan?”).

If you only review deadline reports covering the next few months, you might never notice these issues.

As a QA double-check, consider generating a separate report listing only inactive registrations and applications. Your review of that report will help ensure that no registrations and applications were inadvertently marked as lapsed. And who knows – maybe you’ll think of a way to bring back a once-beloved brand!