Cancellation proceedings are similar to opposition proceedings. These occur after the disputed mark is already registered, rather than during the application process. The most common grounds are based on:

(1) a mark that is likely to confuse;

(2) a merely descriptive, merely geographically descriptive mark, or a mark that is merely a surname;

(3) a mark that falsely identifies the source of goods or services;

(4) an absence of a bona fide use of defendant’s mark in commerce prior to the filing of the use-based application, or that there was no bona fide intent to use the mark when the applicant filed an Intent to Use application;

(5) an abandonment of a mark of at least 3 years;

(6) fraud having been committed in registering the mark; and

(7) the disputed mark dilutes another famous mark.