Legislation designed to increase protection of trademarks.
On July 5, 1946, Congress passed the Trademark Act of 1947, known as the Lanham Act, making the effective date July 5, 1947. The bill increased the protection of trademarks already provided under earlier legislation: the Trade-Mark Act of March 3, 1881; “An Act relating to the registration of trade marks” (August 5, 1882); and the Trade-Mark Act of 1905. Legislators strengthened provisions against the deceptive and misleading use of trademarks in commerce and provided protection from unfair competition. Of particular importance, the Trademark Act of 1947 provided remedies in cases involving the fraudulent use of trademarks through the use of “reproductions, copies, counterfeits, or colorable imitations of registered marks.” The act defined requirements for application, service of process (in which court documents are served on individuals or agencies), court appeals, and jurisdiction. Under the act the federal government prohibited states from infringing on the rights of persons or entities using a registered trademark and placed jurisdiction in the federal courts. Trademark certificates were valid for ten years, but after six years the commissioner could revoke the certification unless the party notified the patent office that the mark was in actual use or satisfactorily explained why it was not. The act remained in effect until 1999, when Congress passed an updated law that addressed the liability of the federal government and modern technological advances (Trademark Amendments Act).
