Jurisdiction of Federal courts; State and local requirements that registered trademarks be altered or displayed differently; prohibition

15 U.S.C. § 1121

• Title: 15 — Commerce and Trade
• Chapter: SUBCHAPTER III—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Text

(a) The district and territorial courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction and the courts of appeal of the United States (other than the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) shall have appellate jurisdiction, of all actions arising under this chapter, without regard to the amount in controversy or to diversity or lack of diversity of the citizenship of the parties.
(b) No State or other jurisdiction of the United States or any political subdivision or any agency thereof may require alteration of a registered mark, or require that additional trademarks, service marks, trade names, or corporate names that may be associated with or incorporated into the registered mark be displayed in the mark in a manner differing from the display of such additional trademarks, service marks, trade names, or corporate names contemplated by the registered mark as exhibited in the certificate of registration issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

History

(July 5, 1946, ch. 540, title VI, §39, formerly §§39 and 39a, 60 Stat. 440; Pub. L. 97–164, title I, §148, Apr. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 46; Pub. L. 97–296, Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1316; Pub. L. 100–667, title I, §131, Nov. 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 3946; Pub. L. 105–330, title II, §201(a)(10), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3070.)

Editorial Notes

Editorial Notes

Codification
Pub. L. 100–667, §131(b)(1), transferred section 39a of act July 5, 1946, which was classified to section 1121a of this title, to subsec. (b) of this section.
In subsec. (a), the words "and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia" following "the Courts of Appeal of the United States" have been deleted as superfluous in view of section 41 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, which includes the District of Columbia within the eleven judicial circuits of the United States. The word "and" has been inserted preceding "the courts of appeal of the United States" to preserve the conjunctive sense of the sentence.

Prior Provisions
Acts Feb. 20, 1905, ch. 592, §17, 33 Stat. 728; Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §291, 36 Stat. 1167; June 7, 1934, ch. 426, 48 Stat. 926; June 25, 1936, ch. 804, 49 Stat. 1921.

Amendments
1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–330 substituted "courts" for "circuit courts" before "of appeal of the United States".
1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–667, §131(a), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–667, §131(b), redesignated section 1121a of this title as subsec. (b) of this section and substituted "service marks" for "servicemarks" in two places.
1982—Pub. L. 97–164 inserted "(other than the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)".

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 105–330 effective Oct. 30, 1998, and applicable only to any civil action filed or proceeding before the United States Patent and Trademark Office commenced on or after such date relating to the registration of a mark, see section 201(b) of Pub. L. 105–330, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title.

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–667 effective one year after Nov. 16, 1988, see section 136 of Pub. L. 100–667, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title.

Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97–164 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 402 of Pub. L. 97–164, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Repeal and Effect on Existing Rights
Repeal of inconsistent provisions, effect of this chapter on pending proceedings and existing registrations and rights under prior acts, see notes set out under section 1051 of this title.