terms used with reference to patent or trademark applications that the applicant has failed to pursue by, for example, not responding within a statutory time limit to an office action or other request from the relevant patent or trademark office or failing to pay fees. It may also be used with respect to a trademark, patent, or other intellectual property right upon which the holder has failed to pay maintenance fees. In either case the applicant or holder usually has a limited time to file a petition and pay a penalty to cure the abandonment, after which the situation becomes final.