What is Statement of Use?

A Statement of Use (SOU) is a formal declaration filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) by an applicant who originally filed a trademark application on an intent-to-use (ITU) basis under Section 1(b) of the Lanham Act. The SOU serves as proof that the applicant has begun using the mark in commerce on or in connection with all the goods or services identified in the application, or on a subset if amending the identification to remove items not yet in use.

The SOU must be filed after the USPTO issues a Notice of Allowance (NOA), which signals that the application has passed examination and survived the opposition period. The applicant has six months from the NOA date to file the SOU. If more time is needed, the applicant may request extensions in six-month increments, up to a maximum of 36 months from the NOA date, with each extension requiring an additional fee and a continued declaration of bona fide intent to use the mark.

The SOU filing must include a verified statement that the mark is in use in commerce, the date of first use of the mark anywhere and the date of first use in commerce, a specimen showing the mark as used on the goods or in connection with the services, and the required filing fee. If the SOU is deficient, the USPTO may issue an office action requesting corrections or additional information.

Why It Matters

The Statement of Use is the critical bridge between an intent-to-use application and a completed trademark registration. Without a timely and compliant SOU, an ITU application will be abandoned, and all the time, effort, and fees invested in the application will be lost. The applicant's priority date — which reaches back to the original filing date — depends entirely on successfully completing this step.

The SOU deadline is strict and unforgiving. Missing the six-month window without having filed an extension request results in automatic abandonment. For companies juggling multiple product launches or complex supply chains, tracking these deadlines across a portfolio of ITU applications is a significant operational challenge.

How Signa Helps

Signa's monitoring and data access tools are designed to help trademark professionals manage exactly this type of deadline-driven workflow. By connecting to Signa's API, IP management platforms can automatically track the status of pending applications, detect when Notices of Allowance are issued, and trigger alerts for upcoming SOU deadlines. This automation eliminates the risk of human error in deadline tracking.

Signa's search capabilities also support the SOU process by helping applicants verify that their mark, as used in commerce, does not create new conflicts that may have emerged since the original filing. A clearance update before filing the SOU can catch issues that would otherwise surface during a post-registration challenge.

Real-World Example

A pet care startup filed an ITU application for the brand "PawPulse" in Class 5 (pet supplements) and Class 31 (pet food). Eighteen months later, the Notice of Allowance arrives. The company has launched its supplements line but the pet food line is still in development. The attorney files a Statement of Use covering Class 5, with a photograph of the supplement packaging bearing the PawPulse mark, and simultaneously files an extension request for Class 31. Six months later, the pet food launches, a second SOU is filed for Class 31 with its own specimen, and the full registration issues — with a priority date reaching back to the original ITU filing nearly three years earlier.