Brand Refresh Regret
You modernized your tired, old logo, tightened the font, and cleaned up the colors. The update looks sharp across your site, packaging, and social headers. Two years later, the five-year maintenance window arrives. Your lawyer asks for a specimen of the mark as filed, not the glow-up. You search old folders. You find only the new art on every surface. That is the moment many owners realize a brand refresh can put a registration on the line.
Why does this happen? Many businesses register a word + design (“stylized”) mark because it is cheaper, may avoid a conflict (word marks are generally more valuable and broader but harder to get), or feels complete. Over time, brands evolve. A designer updates kerning. A product team adjusts the label hierarchy. A web refresh standardizes color. None of this feels like a new mark. The problem is that trademark maintenance, starting at the Section 8 and 15 filings, requires proof of current use of the same mark you registered. Not a near match. Not a family resemblance. If the commercial impression changed, the USPTO can refuse the specimen.
Once a company rolls out the new look everywhere, the old version often disappears from the market. No labels left in inventory. No product pages with the original design. No email footers or headers to screenshot. Without a clean specimen, owners face a choice: File a new application for the updated design and risk a protection gap as the old registration moves toward lapse, or try to revive use of the old mark in a way that is bona fide, in the ordinary course of business, and do it all fast enough to land a specimen before deadlines close. This is a great way to increase your stress level and legal fees.
There is a calmer path. Treat design updates like product launches. Plan the legal step before the creative rollout. If you will change the logo more than cosmetically, file first. If timing is tight, file as an intent-to-use so the application stakes out your updated look while you prepare the market launch. Maintain limited, real-world use of the old mark during the transition. Capture clean, dated evidence of both versions. Coordinate with marketing and vendors so packaging runs and website changes do not leave you specimen-less.
Continuity is the goal. In practice, that means a defined, documented period where the old design is still used in commerce. This can be a small run of packaging that ships to customers, a product page that keeps the original lockup while the rest of the site updates, or printed materials that remain in use through the switchover. Take screenshots and photos with dates visible or otherwise provable. Store them where you can find them. Treat these images like evidence, because that is what the USPTO needs.
Talk to your lawyer about whether a Section 7(e) amendment might be possible instead of a new filing. This will depend on how materially changed the new mark is in the opinion of an examiner (not the user). Sometimes a new filing is not optional. If a customer would perceive your update as a different look, assume you need a new application. Filing early reduces the chance of a coverage gap and lowers the risk of an opposition fueled by a third party who notices your lapse window. Waiting until renewal season compresses everything, and that pressure leads to poor choices.
Five practical steps before you change a logo
Call your trademark lawyer before your graphic designer. A ten-minute check on the front end can prevent a scramble later and save real money.
Map your dates. Identify the Section 8 and 15 window tied to your registration and work backward. If your renewal window opens on March 1, 2026, plan the refresh and any new filing well before that date.
Decide now, file or finesse. If the update changes the commercial impression, file for the new look. If you are not yet in market, use intent-to-use so the application runs while you prep the rollout.
Plan a documented phase-out. Keep a small slice of bona fide use of the old mark alive until the new registration clears. Do not hard cut over every brand element or touchpoint on the same day. Give yourself room to gather clean specimens.
Build a specimen locker. Save dated screenshots of webpages, product photos in the wild, packaging flats, and labels for both versions. Name files clearly by date and channel so you can retrieve them quickly during the maintenance window.
Cost and timing: a quick reality check
Filing the new mark while the old one remains active is cheap insurance. It reduces the risk of refusal during maintenance and avoids last-minute hunting for specimens that no longer exist. The extra filing fee is modest compared to the cost of an opposition or the loss of a mature registration.
Quick answers to common questions
Can you submit a section 8 specimen for an existing registration showing only the new logo? No. The specimen must match the mark as filed.
What if you cannot find any proof of the current use of the old version? You likely need a new application for the updated design and a strategy for the maintenance filings on the original.
Do tiny font or color shifts matter? They might. The test is based on the commercial impression on a typical customer, not your intent. When in doubt, ask. It is easier to adjust timing now than to fix a refusal later.
If you are thinking about a refresh in January 2026. Send your current registration and the proposed artwork to your trademark professional. They should be able to flag risk, develop a filing plan, and, with your creative team, set up a transition calendar.
This post is general information, not legal advice. If you have a specific issue, contact us to set up a consultation.