
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC1126]

 
                      TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
 
                         CHAPTER 22--TRADEMARKS
 
                   SUBCHAPTER III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
Sec. 1126. International conventions


(a) Register of marks communicated by international bureaus

    The Director shall keep a register of all marks communicated to him 
by the international bureaus provided for by the conventions for the 
protection of industrial property, trademarks, trade and commercial 
names, and the repression of unfair competition to which the United 
States is or may become a party, and upon the payment of the fees 
required by such conventions and the fees required in this chapter may 
place the marks so communicated upon such register. This register shall 
show a facsimile of the mark or trade or commercial name; the name, 
citizenship, and address of the registrant; the number, date, and place 
of the first registration of the mark, including the dates on which 
application for such registration was filed and granted and the term of 
such registration; a list of goods or services to which the mark is 
applied as shown by the registration in the country of origin, and such 
other data as may be useful concerning the mark. This register shall be 
a continuation of the register provided in section 1(a) of the Act of 
March 19, 1920.

(b) Benefits of section to persons whose country of origin is party to 
        convention or treaty

    Any person whose country of origin is a party to any convention or 
treaty relating to trademarks, trade or commercial names, or the 
repression of unfair competition, to which the United States is also a 
party, or extends reciprocal rights to nationals of the United States by 
law, shall be entitled to the benefits of this section under the 
conditions expressed herein to the extent necessary to give effect to 
any provision of such convention, treaty or reciprocal law, in addition 
to the rights to which any owner of a mark is otherwise entitled by this 
chapter.

(c) Prior registration in country of origin; country of origin defined

    No registration of a mark in the United States by a person described 
in subsection (b) of this section shall be granted until such mark has 
been registered in the country of origin of the applicant, unless the 
applicant alleges use in commerce.
    For the purposes of this section, the country of origin of the 
applicant is the country in which he has a bona fide and effective 
industrial or commercial establishment, or if he has not such an 
establishment the country in which he is domiciled, or if he has not a 
domicile in any of the countries described in subsection (b) of this 
section, the country of which he is a national.

(d) Right of priority

    An application for registration of a mark under section 1051, 1053, 
1054, or 1091 of this title or under subsection (e) of this section, 
filed by a person described in subsection (b) of this section who has 
previously duly filed an application for registration of the same mark 
in one of the countries described in subsection (b) of this section 
shall be accorded the same force and effect as would be accorded to the 
same application if filed in the United States on the same date on which 
the application was first filed in such foreign country: Provided, 
That--
        (1) the application in the United States is filed within six 
    months from the date on which the application was first filed in the 
    foreign country;
        (2) the application conforms as nearly as practicable to the 
    requirements of this chapter, including a statement that the 
    applicant has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce;
        (3) the rights acquired by third parties before the date of the 
    filing of the first application in the foreign country shall in no 
    way be affected by a registration obtained on an application filed 
    under this subsection;
        (4) nothing in this subsection shall entitle the owner of a 
    registration granted under this section to sue for acts committed 
    prior to the date on which his mark was registered in this country 
    unless the registration is based on use in commerce.

    In like manner and subject to the same conditions and requirements, 
the right provided in this section may be based upon a subsequent 
regularly filed application in the same foreign country, instead of the 
first filed foreign application: Provided, That any foreign application 
filed prior to such subsequent application has been withdrawn, 
abandoned, or otherwise disposed of, without having been laid open to 
public inspection and without leaving any rights outstanding, and has 
not served, nor thereafter shall serve, as a basis for claiming a right 
of priority.

(e) Registration on principal or supplemental register; copy of foreign 
        registration

    A mark duly registered in the country of origin of the foreign 
applicant may be registered on the principal register if eligible, 
otherwise on the supplemental register in this chapter provided. Such 
applicant shall submit, within such time period as may be prescribed by 
the Director, a certification or a certified copy of the registration in 
the country of origin of the applicant. The application must state the 
applicant's bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, but use in 
commerce shall not be required prior to registration.

(f) Domestic registration independent of foreign registration

    The registration of a mark under the provisions of subsections (c), 
(d), and (e) of this section by a person described in subsection (b) of 
this section shall be independent of the registration in the country of 
origin and the duration, validity, or transfer in the United States of 
such registration shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter.

(g) Trade or commercial names of foreign nationals protected without 
        registration

    Trade names or commercial names of persons described in subsection 
(b) of this section shall be protected without the obligation of filing 
or registration whether or not they form parts of marks.

(h) Protection of foreign nationals against unfair competition

    Any person designated in subsection (b) of this section as entitled 
to the benefits and subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be 
entitled to effective protection against unfair competition, and the 
remedies provided in this chapter for infringement of marks shall be 
available so far as they may be appropriate in repressing acts of unfair 
competition.

(i) Citizens or residents of United States entitled to benefits of 
        section

    Citizens or residents of the United States shall have the same 
benefits as are granted by this section to persons described in 
subsection (b) of this section.

(July 5, 1946, ch. 540, title IX, Sec. 44, 60 Stat. 441; Pub. L. 87-333, 
Sec. 2, Oct. 3, 1961, 75 Stat. 748; Pub. L. 87-772, Sec. 20, Oct. 9, 
1962, 76 Stat. 774; Pub. L. 100-667, title I, Sec. 133, Nov. 16, 1988, 
102 Stat. 3946; Pub. L. 105-330, title I, Sec. 108, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 
Stat. 3068; Pub. L. 106-43, Sec. 6(b), Aug. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 220; 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.)

                       References in Text

    Section 1(a) of the Act of March 19, 1920, referred to in subsec. 
(a), is section 1(a) of act Mar. 19, 1920, ch. 104, 41 Stat. 533, which 
was classified to section 121(a) of this title, and repealed by act July 
5, 1946, ch. 540, Sec. 46(a), 60 Stat. 444, insofar as inconsistent with 
this chapter.


                            Prior Provisions

    Acts Feb. 20, 1905, ch. 592, Secs. 1, 2, 4, 33 Stat. 724, 725; May 
4, 1906, ch. 2081, Secs. 1, 3, 34 Stat. 168, 169; Feb. 18, 1909, ch. 
144, 35 Stat. 628; Mar. 19, 1920, ch. 104, Secs. 1, 6, 41 Stat. 533, 
535; Apr. 11, 1930, ch. 132, Sec. 4, 46 Stat. 155; June 20, 1936, ch. 
617, 49 Stat. 1539; June 10, 1938, ch. 332, Secs. 1, 2, 3, 52 Stat. 638, 
639.


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106-113 substituted ``Director'' for 
``Commissioner''.
    Pub. L. 106-43 substituted ``trademarks'' for ``trade-marks''.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106-113 substituted ``Director'' for 
``Commissioner''.
    1998--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105-330, Sec. 108(1)(A), in introductory 
provisions, substituted ``or 1091 of this title or under subsection (e) 
of this section'' for ``1091 of this title, or subsection (e) of this 
section''.
    Subsec. (d)(3), (4). Pub. L. 105-330, Sec. 108(1)(B), made technical 
amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as 
reference to this subsection.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105-330, Sec. 108(2), substituted ``Such 
applicant shall submit, within such time period as may be prescribed by 
the Commissioner, a certification or a certified copy of the 
registration in the country of origin of the applicant'' for ``The 
application therefor shall be accompanied by a certification or a 
certified copy of the registration in the country of origin of the 
applicant''.
    1988--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 133(2), substituted 
``required in this chapter'' for ``herein prescribed''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 133(1), made technical amendment 
in two places to references in the original act to subsection (b) of 
this section, resulting in no change in text.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 133(1), (3), (4), (5), in 
introductory provisions, made technical amendment in two places to 
references in the original act to subsection (b) of this section, 
resulting in no change in text, and substituted ``section 1051, 1053, 
1054, or 1091 of this title, or subsection (e) of this section'' for 
``sections 1051, 1052, 1053, 1054, or 1091 of this title'', in par. (2), 
substituted ``including a statement that the applicant has a bona fide 
intention to use the mark in commerce'' for ``but use in commerce need 
not be alleged'', and in par. (3), substituted ``foreign'' for 
``foreing''.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 133(6), inserted at end ``The 
application must state the applicant's bona fide intention to use the 
mark in commerce, but use in commerce shall not be required prior to 
registration.''
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 133(1), (7), made technical 
amendment to references in the original act to subsections (c), (d), and 
(e) of this section and to subsection (b) of this section, resulting in 
no change in text.
    Subsecs. (g) to (i). Pub. L. 100-667, Sec. 133(1), (8), made 
technical amendment to references in the original act to subsection (b) 
of this section, resulting in no change in text.
    1962--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87-772 inserted ``or extends reciprocal 
rights to nationals of the United States by law,'' and substituted 
provisions requiring the person's country of origin to be a party to any 
convention or treaty, for provisions which required such persons to be 
nationals of, domiciled in, or have a bona fide and effective business 
or commercial establishment in a foreign country which was a party to 
the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 
or the General Inter-American Convention for Trade Mark and Commercial 
Protection, or any other convention or treaty relating to trademarks, 
trade, or commercial names.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 87-772 inserted ``certification or a'' after 
``accompanied by a'' and struck out ``application for or'' before 
``registration''.
    1961--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 87-333 inserted par. at end authorizing 
the right provided by this section to be based upon a subsequent 
application in the same foreign country, instead of the first 
application, provided that any foreign application filed prior to such 
subsequent one was withdrawn, or otherwise disposed of, without having 
been open to public inspection and without leaving any rights 
outstanding, nor any basis for claiming priority.


                    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 on the date that is 1 year 
after Oct. 30, 1998, see section 110 of Pub. L. 105-330, set out as a 
note under section 1051 of this title.
    For provisions relating to applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 
105-330 to applications for registration of trademarks, see section 
109(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 1961 Amendment

    Section 3 of Pub. L. 87-333 provided that: ``This Act [amending this 
section and section 119 of Title 35, Patents] shall take effect on the 
date when the Convention of Paris for the Protection of Industrial 
Property of March 20, 1883, as revised at Lisbon, October 31, 1958, 
comes into force with respect to the United States and shall apply only 
to applications thereafter filed in the United States by persons 
entitled to the benefit of said convention, as revised at the time of 
such filing.''


                  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 1051, 1057, 1063 of this 
title.
