BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1484
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Date of Hearing: May 9, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 1484 (Krekorian) - As Amended: April 16, 2007
Policy Committee:
JudiciaryVote:10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill repeals the existing trademark law and enacts the
Model State Trademark Law, as drafted by the International
Trademark Association and adopted by 30 other states.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Expands the information required to be provided to the
Secretary of State (SOS) with an application for registration
to include, among other things, a drawing of the mark and
three specimens of that mark as it is actually used.
Applications must be signed and verified under penalty of
perjury.
2)Expands the grounds upon which the SOS shall cancel a
registration and specifies procedures for actions to compel
registration or cancel a registration.
3)Implements a number of changes designed to bring California
law into greater conformity with federal law and recent
develops in trademark case law, including:
a) Reducing the duration of state trademark registrations
from 10 years to 5 years, and providing that renewal
periods for registrations shall similarly be reduced from
10 years to 5 years.
b) Providing that state registration may be cancelled
because a mark has become "generic," and defining that
term.
c) Permitting the SOS to require a trademark applicant to
AB 1484
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state whether it previously sought to register the mark
with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and, if
registration was refused, to disclose why.
FISCAL EFFECT
The SOS will incur minor absorbable costs and a minor revenue
increase due to changing the renewable period from 10 years to 5
years.
COMMENTS
Background and Purpose . A "trademark" or "service mark," for
goods and services respectively, may consist of any word, name,
symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, that is adopted
and used by a person to identify the goods or services
manufactured or provided by that person. Most importantly, the
trademark or service mark is used to distinguish those goods or
services from goods or services manufactured or provided by
others.
California's existing trademark law was first adopted in 1941.
In 1967, it was repealed and replaced with one based on the
Model State Trademark Bill (MSTB), which was drafted by the
INTA. Since that time, the INTA has issued major revisions of
the bill in 1992 and again in 1996 in order to codify important
developments in trademark case law and adapt to ever changing
business conditions and practices. AB 1484 repeals California's
existing trademark law and replace it one based on the 1996 INTA
model bill. This will bring California into alignment with
federal trademark law and the 30 other states that have adopted
the Model Trademark Law.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081