Yes, a registered trademark can be cancelled. The reasons for cancelling may depend on jurisdiction, however, most common grounds to cancel or invalidate a trademark are the following:
- The registered trademark is causing confusion with another previously registered trademark (cancellation would have to be initiated by an interested person and in most cases would end up in court of law).
- The trademark was registered in bad faith (this is an absolute ground for refusing any trademark application at any stage, provided evidence of bad faith application can be submitted to the court of law).
- The registered trademark is a well-known trademark and the person who has registered it is not the real owner or does not have authorization (i.e. has registered in bad faith).
- The trademark is not used in a real effective way for several years (in most jurisdictions for 5 years).
