§ 11-40-105 — Licensing; use of trademark; royalty

(a) The committee may license any person to market Wyoming
lean beef and use the label, trademark or trade name "Wyoming
lean beef" who:
(i) Pays an annual licensing fee of one hundred
dollars ($100.00);
(ii) Pays an additional annual licensing fee of one
thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each state or fraction thereof
for which the licensee has obtained a geographically exclusive
license;
(iii) Agrees to pay the royalty required by
subsection (h) of this section;
(iv) Agrees to pay any additional royalty that may be
established to support advertising and promotion programs;
(v) Agrees to abide by the standards established for
Wyoming lean beef and to market no beef as Wyoming lean beef
that fails to meet the standards;
(vi) Agrees to abide by applicable state and federal
standards relating to public health and the slaughtering and
preparation of meat for sale;
(vii) Agrees to abide by any other terms of the
license the committee deems appropriate provided that the
committee may make no term for the purpose of creating a
monopoly in the marketing of Wyoming lean beef.
(b) The committee may give geographically exclusive
licenses for markets outside Wyoming provided that the market
shall not exceed the area the licensee can reasonably be
expected to serve within a reasonable period of time and may be
revoked in whole or in part for failure of the licensee to
adequately supply the market with Wyoming lean beef. The
committee may set specific volume of sales targets for the
license to meet in order to retain a geographically exclusive
license. If more than one (1) person applies for a
geographically exclusive license for the same area the committee
may divide the area or choose between the persons based on the
criteria set forth in subsection (d) of this section.
(c) The issuance of a geographically exclusive license for
a particular geographic area shall not prohibit other licensees
from selling Wyoming lean beef directly to residents of the
geographic area if the sales are for consumption and not for
resale and are made within Wyoming or in response to mail or
telephone solicitation originating within Wyoming or in response
to an advertisement in a publication of national circulation. No
geographically exclusive license shall include any of the state
of Wyoming. No geographically exclusive license shall include
more than twenty (20) of the states of the United States until
the licensee has actually served the market within the states
for which he is licensed.
(d) The committee may reject, restrict, accept, or accept
in part an application for a license to market Wyoming lean
beef, or may choose between competing applicants based upon:
(i) The financial strength of the applicant;
(ii) The marketing expertise of the applicant and his
specific marketing plans;
(iii) The access of the applicant to a supply of
Wyoming lean beef;
(iv) The prior experience of the applicant in
relevant businesses; and
(v) Any other standards or criteria the committee
deems appropriate.
(e) The committee may deny, revoke, suspend or limit the
license of anyone who:
(i) Fails to abide by the provisions of subsection
(a) of this section or any terms of the license;
(ii) Is convicted of violating the public health laws
of the United States or any state;
(iii) Is convicted or has been convicted of any
felony;
(iv) Willfully or unintentionally but repeatedly
markets beef as Wyoming lean beef which does not meet the
quality standards for Wyoming lean beef.
(f) Any retailer who is selling Wyoming lean beef
furnished by any person licensed to sell Wyoming lean beef may
use the "Wyoming lean beef" trademark or trade name in
connection with any advertising or promotion of that beef. The
committee may forbid licensees to furnish any Wyoming lean beef
to any retailer who labels any other beef as Wyoming lean beef.
(g) The committee may seek through legal action monetary
damages from any person labeling or selling as Wyoming lean beef
any beef which does not meet the quality standards for Wyoming
lean beef. Damages recovered may be used to reimburse the state
for any expenses it may have incurred in connection with the
case and may be used for advertising and promotion to overcome
any damage to the public image of Wyoming lean beef.
(h) The committee shall annually set the royalty to be
paid by licensees which shall be not less than fifty cents
($.50) per head and not more than five dollars ($5.00) per head
and shall be designed to defray the expenses of the committee,
the expenses of the inspection and enforcement program and give
the state of Wyoming a return of eight percent (8%) per annum on
the monies appropriated for the marketing of Wyoming lean beef
by Chapter 199, Wyoming Session Laws 1985 and by any other
legislative appropriation and spent by the University of Wyoming
on the 1985 San Francisco simulated market test. The royalties
shall be deposited in the general fund of the state except that
fifty percent (50%) of any royalties in excess of the amount
budgeted for the expenses of the committee, the inspection and
enforcement program and repayment to the state shall be
deposited in the University of Wyoming fund to the credit of the
agricultural experiment station account.