A

In copyright, abandonment is the explicit release of material by a copyright holder into the public domain. In trademark is occurs when a trademark is not used for three or more years, or when it is deliberately discontinued. This is a lack of a bona fide commercial use of a trademark for a certain length of time so that the exclusive rights of use of the trademark are relinquished and another may adopt the mark or use such abandonment as a defense to a claim or infringement, unfair competition, or dilution by a trademark owner. In patent it is a relinquishment by an inventor ...