
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC1057]

 
                      TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
 
                         CHAPTER 22--TRADEMARKS
 
                  SUBCHAPTER I--THE PRINCIPAL REGISTER
 
Sec. 1057. Certificates of registration


(a) Issuance and form

    Certificates of registration of marks registered upon the principal 
register shall be issued in the name of the United States of America, 
under the seal of the Patent and Trademark Office, and shall be signed 
by the Director or have his signature placed thereon, and a record 
thereof shall be kept in the Patent and Trademark Office. The 
registration shall reproduce the mark, and state that the mark is 
registered on the principal register under this chapter, the date of the 
first use of the mark, the date of the first use of the mark in 
commerce, the particular goods or services for which it is registered, 
the number and date of the registration, the term thereof, the date on 
which the application for registration was received in the Patent and 
Trademark Office, and any conditions and limitations that may be imposed 
in the registration.

(b) Certificate as prima facie evidence

    A certificate of registration of a mark upon the principal register 
provided by this chapter shall be prima facie evidence of the validity 
of the registered mark and of the registration of the mark, of the 
registrant's ownership of the mark, and of the registrant's exclusive 
right to use the registered mark in commerce on or in connection with 
the goods or services specified in the certificate, subject to any 
conditions or limitations stated in the certificate.

(c) Application to register mark considered constructive use

    Contingent on the registration of a mark on the principal register 
provided by this chapter, the filing of the application to register such 
mark shall constitute constructive use of the mark, conferring a right 
of priority, nationwide in effect, on or in connection with the goods or 
services specified in the registration against any other person except 
for a person whose mark has not been abandoned and who, prior to such 
filing--
        (1) has used the mark;
        (2) has filed an application to register the mark which is 
    pending or has resulted in registration of the mark; or
        (3) has filed a foreign application to register the mark on the 
    basis of which he or she has acquired a right of priority, and 
    timely files an application under section 1126(d) of this title to 
    register the mark which is pending or has resulted in registration 
    of the mark.

(d) Issuance to assignee

    A certificate of registration of a mark may be issued to the 
assignee of the applicant, but the assignment must first be recorded in 
the Patent and Trademark Office. In case of change of ownership the 
Director shall, at the request of the owner and upon a proper showing 
and the payment of the prescribed fee, issue to such assignee a new 
certificate of registration of the said mark in the name of such 
assignee, and for the unexpired part of the original period.

(e) Surrender, cancellation, or amendment by registrant

    Upon application of the registrant the Director may permit any 
registration to be surrendered for cancellation, and upon cancellation 
appropriate entry shall be made in the records of the Patent and 
Trademark Office. Upon application of the registrant and payment of the 
prescribed fee, the Director for good cause may permit any registration 
to be amended or to be disclaimed in part: Provided, That the amendment 
or disclaimer does not alter materially the character of the mark. 
Appropriate entry shall be made in the records of the Patent and 
Trademark Office and upon the certificate of registration or, if said 
certificate is lost or destroyed, upon a certified copy thereof.

(f) Copies of Patent and Trademark Office records as evidence

    Copies of any records, books, papers, or drawings belonging to the 
Patent and Trademark Office relating to marks, and copies of 
registrations, when authenticated by the seal of the Patent and 
Trademark Office and certified by the Director, or in his name by an 
employee of the Office duly designated by the Director, shall be 
evidence in all cases wherein the originals would be evidence; and any 
person making application therefor and paying the prescribed fee shall 
have such copies.

(g) Correction of Patent and Trademark Office mistake

    Whenever a material mistake in a registration, incurred through the 
fault of the Patent and Trademark Office, is clearly disclosed by the 
records of the Office a certificate stating the fact and nature of such 
mistake, shall be issued without charge and recorded and a printed copy 
thereof shall be attached to each printed copy of the registration 
certificate and such corrected registration shall thereafter have the 
same effect as if the same had been originally issued in such corrected 
form, or in the discretion of the Director a new certificate of 
registration may be issued without charge. All certificates of 
correction heretofore issued in accordance with the rules of the Patent 
and Trademark Office and the registrations to which they are attached 
shall have the same force and effect as if such certificates and their 
issue had been specifically authorized by statute.

(h) Correction of applicant's mistake

    Whenever a mistake has been made in a registration and a showing has 
been made that such mistake occurred in good faith through the fault of 
the applicant, the Director is authorized to issue a certificate of 
correction or, in his discretion, a new certificate upon the payment of 
the prescribed fee: Provided, That the correction does not involve such 
changes in the registration as to require republication of the mark.

(July 5, 1946, ch. 540, title I, Sec. 7, 60 Stat. 430; Aug. 17, 1950, 
ch. 733, 64 Stat. 459; Pub. L. 87-772, Sec. 4, Oct. 9, 1962, 76 Stat. 
769; Pub. L. 93-596, Sec. 1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1949; Pub. L. 100-
667, title I, Sec. 109, Nov. 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 3938; Pub. L. 105-330, 
title II, Sec. 201(a)(3), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3070; Pub. L. 106-
113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4732(b)(1)(B)], Nov. 29, 
1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-583.)


                            Prior Provisions

    Subsecs. (a) and (c) are from acts Feb. 20, 1905, ch. 592, Sec. 11, 
33 Stat. 727; Mar. 4, 1925, ch. 535, Sec. 3, 43 Stat. 1269.
    Subsec. (e) is from act Mar. 19, 1920, ch. 104, Sec. 7, 41 Stat. 
535.
    Subsec. (f) is from act Mar. 4, 1925, ch. 535, Sec. 1, 43 Stat. 
1268.


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsecs. (a), (d) to (h). Pub. L. 106-113 substituted 
``Director'' for ``Commissioner'' wherever appearing.
    1998--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105-330 struck out second period at end 
of first sentence.
    1988--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 109(1), amended subsec. (b) 
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ``A 
certificate of registration of a mark upon the principal register 
provided by this chapter shall be prima facie evidence of the validity 
of the registration, registrant's ownership of the mark, and of 
registrant's exclusive right to use the mark in commerce in connection 
with the goods or services specified in the certificate, subject to any 
conditions and limitations stated therein.''
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 109(3), added subsec. (c). Former 
subsec. (c) redesignated (d).
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 109(2), (4), redesignated former 
subsec. (c) as (d) and substituted ``prescribed fee'' for ``fee herein 
provided''. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e).
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 109(2), redesignated former 
subsec. (d) as (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f).
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 109(2), (5), redesignated former 
subsec. (e) as (f) and substituted ``prescribed fee'' for ``fee required 
by law''. Former subsec. (f) redesignated (g).
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 109(2), redesignated former 
subsec. (f) as (g). Former subsec. (g) redesignated (h).
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 109(2), (6), redesignated former 
subsec. (g) as (h) and substituted ``prescribed fee'' for ``required 
fee''.
    1975--Subsecs. (a), (c) to (f). Pub. L. 93-596 substituted ``Patent 
and Trademark Office'' for ``Patent Office''.
    1962--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 87-772 substituted ``signature placed'' 
for ``name printed'', and struck out provisions requiring an attestation 
by an assistant commissioner or by one of the law examiners designated 
by the Commissioner, together with printed copies of the drawing and 
statement of the applicant, to be kept in books for that purpose.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 87-772, among other charges, removed the 
requirement of a fee in connection with the voluntary surrender or 
cancellation of a registration.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 87-772 substituted ``an employee of the 
Office'' for ``a chief of division'', among other changes.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 87-772, among other changes, struck out ``, 
signed by the Commissioner and sealed with the seal of the Patent 
Office'' after ``nature of such mistake''.
    1950--Subsec. (a). Act Aug. 17, 1950, made it unnecessary to include 
in the certificate a statement of the applicant.


                    Effective Date of 1999 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 106-113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, 
see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4731] of Pub. L. 106-113, set out 
as a note under section 1 of Title 35, Patents.


                    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 1975 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 93-596 effective Jan. 2, 1975, see section 4 of 
Pub. L. 93-596, set out as a note under section 1111 of this title.


                  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.

                          Transfer of Functions

    For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies 
of Department of Commerce, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of 
Commerce, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 5 of 1950, 
Secs. 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263, set out in 
the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1068, 1071, 1092, 1094, 1115 
of this title.
