§ 1057. — Certificates of registration.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 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, 1141f of this title.
