Opinion ID: 2795022
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Benefits of Trademark Registration

Text: The McGinley court held that the refusal to register a mark under § 2(a) does not bar the applicant from using the mark, and therefore does not implicate the First Amendment. It is true that § 2(a) does not bar the applicant from using the mark. Here, for example, Mr. Tam’s band can continue to perform and advertise using the name “The Slants.” However, as the McGinley court wrote, § 2(a) denies the applicant access to “benefits provided by the Lanham Act which enhance the value of a mark.” 660 F.2d at 486 n.12. “Registration is significant. The Lanham Act confers important legal rights and 6 IN RE TAM benefits on trademark owners who register their marks.” B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Ind., Inc., 135 S. Ct. 1293, 1300 (2015). These benefits—unavailable in the absence of federal registration—are numerous, and include both substantive and procedural rights. First, the holder of a federal trademark has a right to exclusive nationwide use of that mark where there was no prior use by a party other than the markholder. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 1072, 1115. Because under the common law, a markholder only has the right to exclusive use where he has used his mark before, see 5 J. Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition § 26:32 (4th ed.), holders of a federal trademark have an important substantive right they could not otherwise obtain. Also, a registered mark is presumed to be valid, 15 U.S.C. § 1057(b), and the mark becomes incontestable (with certain exceptions) after five years of consecutive post-registration use, id. § 1065; see also B&B Hardware, 135 S. Ct. at 1310 (“Incontestability is a powerful protection”). A markholder may sue in federal courts to enforce his trademark, 15 U.S.C. § 1121, and he may recover treble damages if he can show in- fringement was willful, id. § 1117. He may also obtain the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in restricting importation of infringing or counterfeit goods, id. § 1124; 19 U.S.C. § 1526, or prevent “cybersquatters” from misappropriating his domain name, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d). In effect, § 2(a) of the Lanham Act conditions trademark registration and all of its attendant benefits on the applicant’s selection of a suitable mark. Section 2(a)’s registerability conditions are not tethered to the trademark’s functioning as a source identifier or to any concern over the mark creating confusion or being misleading. Instead, § 2(a) allows the PTO to determine whether the trademark is suitable for registration, in this case whethIN RE TAM 7 er it is disparaging, which is a moral judgment based solely and indisputably on the mark’s expressive content. Not only is a disparaging trademark denied federal registration, but it cannot be protected by its owner by virtue of a § 43(a) unfair competition claim. Id. § 1125(a). Section 43(a) allows for a federal suit, much like state common law, to protect an unregistered trademark. As many courts have noted, it is the use of a trademark in commerce, not its registration, which gives rise to a protectable right. Miller v. Glenn Miller Prods., Inc., 454 F.3d 975, 979 (9th Cir. 2006) (“Registration does not create a mark or confer ownership; only use in the marketplace can establish a mark.”); In re Int’l Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., 183 F.3d 1361, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (“The federal registration of a trademark does not create an exclusive property right in the mark. The owner of the mark already has the property right established by prior use. . . . However, those trademark owners who register their marks with the PTO are afforded additional protection not provided by the common law.”). Equally clear, however, is that § 43(a) protection is only available for unregistered trademarks that could have qualified for federal registration. Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc., 505 U.S. 763, 768 (1992) (section 43(a) “protects qualifying unregistered trademarks and . . . the general principles qualifying a mark for registration under § 2 of the Lanham Act are for the most part applicable in determining whether an unregistered mark is entitled to protection under § 43(a)”); Donchez v. Coors Brewing Co., 392 F.3d 1211, 1215 (10th Cir. 2004) (plaintiff must establish that its mark is protectable to prevail in a claim under § 43(a)); Yarmuth-Dion, Inc. v. D’ion Furs, Inc., 835 F.2d 990, 992 (2d Cir. 1987) (requiring a plaintiff to “demonstrate that his [unregistered] mark merits protection under the Lanham Act”). Thus, no federal cause of action is availa- 8 IN RE TAM ble to protect a trademark deemed disparaging, regardless of its use in commerce. Section 2(a)’s bar on disparaging marks was a creation of the federal government, first developed when Congress enacted the Lanham Act. See infra at 21–22. Three years later, the United States Trademark Association prepared the Model State Trademark Bill—a bill patterned on the Lanham Act in many respects. McCarthy at § 22:5. The Model Bill contained language barring a mark from registration if it “consists of or comprises matter which may disparage . . . persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” 1964 Model State Trademark Act, § 2. Following the lead of the federal government, virtually all states have adopted the Model Bill and its disparagement provision. McCarthy at § 22:5. Thus, not only are the benefits of federal registration unavailable to Mr. Tam, so too are the benefits of trademark registration in nearly all states. And as commentators have noted, state statutory and common law schemes mirror Lanham Act protections, making it likely that an unregisterable trademark will have no state protection. McCarthy at § 22:1.50; see also 1964 Model State Trademark Act, § 1.C (“The term ‘mark’ as used herein includes any trademark or service mark entitled to registration under this Act whether registered or not.”) (emphasis added). While denial of registerability and the attendant rights of protection both federal and state do not prevent a trademark owner from using its mark, such denial severely burdens use of such marks. Section 2(a)’s content-based restrictions on registerability were adopted to reduce use of trademarks the government deemed unsuitable (such as those that disparage)—no doubt a chilling effect on speech. IN RE TAM 9