2023 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations › Chapter 132 - Trademarks, badges and labeled products. › 132.01 - Marks.

132.01
Marks.
(1)
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or union of workingmen, which has heretofore adopted or used or shall hereafter adopt or use any mark for the purpose of designating, making known, or distinguishing any goods, wares, merchandise, service, business, or other product of labor or manufacture as having been made, manufactured, produced, prepared, packed, or put on sale by such person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or union of workingmen, or by a member or members thereof, he, she, or they, if residents of this or any other state of the United States, and such foreign corporations as may have been duly licensed to transact business in the state of Wisconsin, may file an original, a copy, or photographs, or cuts with specifications of the same for record with the department, by leaving 2 such originals, copies, photographs, or cuts with specifications, the same being counterparts, facsimiles, or drawings thereof, with the department and by filing therewith a sworn statement, in such form as may be prescribed by the department, specifying the name of the person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or union of workingmen, on whose behalf such mark is to be filed, the class of merchandise and a separate description of the goods to which the same has been or is intended to be appropriated, the residence, location, or place of business of such party, that the party, on whose behalf such mark is to be filed, has the right to the use of the same, and that no other person, or persons, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or union of workingmen has such right either in the identical form or in any such near resemblance thereto as may be calculated to deceive, and that the originals, copies, photographs, or cuts, counterparts, facsimiles, or drawings filed therewith are correct.
(2)
Where the several parts of a single unit article of trade or commerce are severally marked to distinguish them by the person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or union of workingmen having the right to manufacture such single unit under a trade name or brand used by him, her or them, such person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or union may, in filing under this section the designation of such trade name or brand, attach thereto photographs or cuts with specifications of the several parts of the unit to which it is attached or applied, and thereafter no further filing or registration of any such parts so used shall be necessary to protect the owner or lawful use of the trade name or brand of the unit against the use by others of any of the several parts thereof and any such filing shall be construed to be a single filing, and but one filing fee shall be paid therefor.
(3)
For an original or renewal registration, or the recording of an assignment, there shall be paid to the department the fee of $15.
(4)
Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing registration hereunder of names and brands of beverages by the persons, firms or corporations specified in s. 132.11.
(5)
The department may not register any mark which consists of or comprises a replica or simulation of the flag, coat of arms, or insignia of the United States of America, or of any state or municipality or any foreign nation.
(6)
(a)
A registration recorded or renewed under this section or s. 132.04 or 132.11 before May 1, 1990, is effective for 20 years. A registration may be renewed on or after May 1, 1990, for 10-year periods upon application to the department and payment of the same fee required for a registration. Application for renewal shall be made within 6 months before the expiration of the 20-year registration period or 10-year renewal period specified in this paragraph.
(b)
A registration recorded under this section or s. 132.04 or 132.11 on or after May 1, 1990, is effective for 10 years. A registration may be renewed for 10-year periods upon application to the department and payment of the same fee required for a registration. Application for renewal shall be made within 6 months before the expiration of the 10-year period specified in this paragraph.
(7)
The department shall do all of the following:
(a)
Cancel from his or her register any registration that is not effective under sub. (6) and also any registration if a final judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction finds that the registration has been abandoned or that the registrant does not have the right to the exclusive use of the registration.
(b)
Cancel from his or her register a registration of a mark under this section upon the request of the registrant of the mark. The department may not charge a fee for canceling a registration under this paragraph.
(8)
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or union who claims a right to the use of subject matter conflicting with any registration by another may bring action against such other in the circuit court for the county in which such other resides, or in the circuit court for Dane County, and in any such action the right to the use and registration of such subject matter shall be determined as between the parties, and registration shall be granted or withheld or canceled by the department in accordance with the final judgment in any such action. Nonuser for a period of at least 2 years continuing to the date of commencement of any action in which abandonment is in issue shall be prima facie evidence of abandonment to the extent of such nonuser.
(9)
Title to any registration hereunder shall pass to any person, firm or corporation succeeding to the registrant's business to which such registration pertains. Written assignments of any such registration from a registrant to such a successor may be filed with and shall be recorded by the department upon payment of the fee specified in sub. (3). When such assignment is recorded, a new registration shall be entered in the name of the assignee, and on such registration and any subsequent certificates or registration of an assigned registration the department shall show the previous ownership and dates of assignment thereof.
History:  1975 c. 94; 1979 c. 221; 1985 a. 181; 1989 a. 91, 123, 359; 1993 a. 490; 2011 a. 32.
A trademark may not be sold independent of its goodwill. However, a mark or name's owner might retain the mark despite the sale of the business that underlies the mark or name if after sale of a business's assets, the mark or name's owner: 1) demonstrates intent to resume making the substantially same product; 2) retains some portion of the goodwill; and 3) resumes operations within a reasonable time. Koepsell's Olde Popcorn Wagons, Inc. v. Koepsell's Festival Popcorn Wagons, Ltd., 2004 WI App 129, 275 Wis. 2d 397, 685 N.W.2d 853, 03-0773.
A trademark is a form of intangible property that cannot exist separate from the good will of the product or service it symbolizes. Good will is a business value that reflects the basic human propensity to continue doing business with a seller who has offered goods and services that the customer likes and has found adequate to fulfill the customer's needs. It is a well-settled legal principle that trademarks and their associated goodwill pass with the sale of a business. In this case, the sellers' resort management business built up the goodwill of the resort through its activities, all while using the Bibs Resort marks. Therefore, the purchasers became the exclusive owners of the Bibs Resort marks when they purchased the resort management business from the sellers. Ritter v. Farrow, 2021 WI 14, 395 Wis. 2d 787, 955 N.W.2d 122, 18-1518.