Yes. The maxim, “Use it or lose it ” applies to trademark law. Trademark rights continue only so long as all five criteria for the existence of a valid trademark continue to be met. Those criteria are: (1) a word, symbol or other thing; (2) use in commerce; (3) functions as an identifier of the source of a product or service; (4) distinctiveness; and (5) no likelihood of confusion with another trademark. If the mark is no longer used in commerce as a source identifier, then the second and third criteria are no longer satisfied, so it ceases to be a valid trademark.
Not every discontinuation of use is abandonment. A temporary, short-term interruption of use is not “abandonment” of the trademark if the owner has an intent to resume use. Abandonment occurs when use is discontinued without any intention of resuming use. Under federal law (the Lanham Act ), three consecutive years of nonuse creates a rebuttable presumption of trademark abandonment. In other words, three consecutive years of nonuse is sufficient to establish a prima facie case of trademark abandonment. This shifts the burden of proof to the trademark owner to prove intent to resume use.