Invalidity and revocation: stages and deadlines
Invalidity and revocation are two separate routes for cancelling a trade mark that is already registered. Invalidity attacks the original registration — the mark should never have been granted. Revocation attacks the mark's continued use — it was valid once, but something changed since. The stages differ slightly, the deadlines and the point of no return do not.
Both routes run through the same office that granted the registration, then through an internal appeal body, then, if either side pushes further, through the courts. Understanding where each stage ends helps a client decide how far to take a case before the cost curve outpaces the commercial stake.
Two routes, one file structure
A request for invalidity or revocation opens as a written filing against a specific registration. The office checks the filing for basic admissibility — correct fee, correct form, a party with standing — before it notifies the holder of the mark. This first check does not look at the merits at all; it only confirms the case can proceed.
Once notified, the holder normally receives a cooling-off window. During this period the parties can settle, narrow the dispute, or let the case move to the exchange of arguments. Many files close here, quietly, without a decision ever being issued.
| Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Filing and admissibility check | Fee paid, form checked, standing confirmed | A few weeks |
| Cooling-off period | Holder notified; settlement window, extendable by agreement | Around two months, often extended |
| Exchange of observations | Both sides file arguments and evidence in rounds | Several months |
| First-instance decision | The office's cancellation division rules on the request | Several months after the last submission |
| Internal appeal | Either side asks the appeal body to review the decision | Twelve months or more |
| Court review | Further review of the appeal body's decision | A year or longer |
The table gives shape to the file, not a promise about any specific case. A straightforward revocation on non-use can close within the first-instance stage. A contested invalidity built on prior rights and extensive evidence can run through every row.
What to do
- Confirm the exact registration under attack — number, classes, current owner of record.
- Collect the grounds in writing before filing: prior rights, non-use evidence, or absolute grounds.
- File within the office's format requirements; incomplete filings restart the admissibility clock.
- Instruct the team to monitor the cooling-off window and respond to settlement approaches promptly.
- Prepare evidence bundles early — use evidence in revocation cases needs dated, verifiable material.
- Track every procedural deadline the office sets; a missed response can end the case outright.
Each step has an owner. The filing party's counsel drafts and files; the client supplies underlying commercial evidence — invoices, packaging, advertising proof — because the office does not accept assertions without support.
Who decides
The office's cancellation division decides at first instance, on the papers filed by both sides. It does not hold a hearing unless one is specifically requested and granted. The decision sets out which grounds succeeded and which did not, ground by ground.
An internal appeal body reviews the file if either side appeals within the set window after notification. Its review is not a rehearing from scratch; it checks whether the first decision applied the standard correctly to the evidence on file. Beyond that body, the matter can reach the courts, which review points of law rather than re-examine the underlying facts.
Where cases branch
If the holder does not respond during the exchange of observations, the office can decide on the file as it stands — silence does not stop the clock, and a default decision against the non-responding side becomes a real risk.
If the case sits alongside a parallel patent dispute over the same product line, the practical calendar gets more crowded; a client who has already seen a warning letter arrives from a patent holder patent knows how quickly two procedures can start competing for the same evidence and the same internal attention.
If the mark under attack sits inside a technology licence with its own warranty structure, an invalidity finding can trigger separate contractual consequences; teams handling that overlap often need to revisit IP indemnity negotiation at the same time as the cancellation file.
If the brand at stake is also used in a cross-border offering of tokenised assets, the invalidity outcome can affect how that offer is described to buyers; the questions a reviewer asks in Cross-border offer assessment: what the decision maker looks at often circle back to whether the underlying mark is still valid.
Cost factors
Cost is driven by the file, not by a fixed tariff. The factors that move it most:
- Number of grounds raised — a single non-use ground costs less to run than five combined grounds.
- Volume of evidence — dated invoices and packaging samples are cheaper to organise than reconstructed sales records.
- Whether the other side contests every point or settles early during the cooling-off window.
- Whether an internal appeal follows the first decision, which roughly doubles the working file.
- Whether a parallel dispute — patent, contract, or a cross-border offering — shares evidence with this file.
We give a first response within minutes during working hours and a cost estimate within one working day, once the registration number and the grounds are on the table.
How the file is structured
Every invalidity or revocation file we open follows the same internal skeleton: a grounds memo, a chronological evidence index, a deadline tracker tied to each procedural stage, and a settlement log recording every approach from the other side. This structure does not change with the size of the dispute — it scales.
We do not publish past matters, even anonymised, because trade mark portfolios are identifiable from the mark itself. What we can say is that the same skeleton applies whether the request rests on a single non-use ground or on a full set of relative and absolute grounds.
What this page does not resolve
This page describes the stages and the deadlines. It does not assess whether a specific mark is vulnerable to invalidity or revocation, and it does not estimate the strength of a specific set of grounds — that assessment needs the actual registration file and the actual evidence in hand.
It also does not cover opposition proceedings against a pending application, which is a different procedure with a different starting point.
Verified
This page was last reviewed for accuracy on the date shown in the page footer. It describes procedural stages published by the relevant office and does not cite specific statutory provisions, in line with our verification approach on procedural pages.
Where a brand portfolio also carries recorded assets requiring valuation, the underlying file work is covered separately; see Asset in Slovenia in detail for what a comparable asset file can establish.
Related publications
The mirror procedure on the application side is covered in How appeal against refusal trade mark runs in practice, for readers dealing with a refusal rather than an existing registration under attack.
FAQ
How long does invalidity and revocation take in practice?
An uncontested revocation can close within the first-instance stage, often within a year of filing. A contested invalidity with an appeal and court review can run several years from filing to final decision.
Which documents are needed to start?
The filing needs the exact registration details of the mark under attack, the grounds relied on, and any evidence available at that point — proof of prior rights for invalidity, or proof of non-use for revocation. Additional evidence follows during the exchange of observations.
What happens if the other side does not respond?
The office can proceed to a decision on the file as filed. Non-response does not pause the procedure, and it typically leaves the non-responding side without a counter-argument on record.