United StatesLanham Act section 2(a), marks that falsely suggest a connection with persons, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols
In force since .
A false affiliation rule binding public and private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
As of .
What it requires
- Do not expect to register on the principal register a name, logo, or other mark that consists of or comprises matter which may falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols (s. 1052(a)); this is a ground for refusing registration, not a rule against using the mark.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (the Lanham Act), codified at section 1052(a) of title 15, is a ground for refusing registration on the principal register to a mark that consists of or comprises matter which may falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols. The provision is a bar on registration, not a prohibition on use: it does not itself prohibit anyone from using a name, logo, or word.
The same paragraph also lists immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter, matter which may disparage, and a geographical indication for wines or spirits that identifies a place other than the origin of the goods. For the constitutionality of certain provisions of the section, the Code refers readers to the Table of Laws Held Unconstitutional in Whole or in Part by the Supreme Court.
In examining trademark applications, the USPTO determines whether a mark falsely suggests a connection to the tribal insignia of the Native American tribes whose insignia are entered in its database. An insignia is entered only if the tribe is recognized federally or by its state and the insignia, adopted by tribal resolution, is a flag, coat of arms, other emblem, or device, so a word alone is not entered.
Entry in the database does not grant the tribe any rights and is not the legal equivalent of registering the insignia as a trademark.
When LexLint raises it
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