T.M.E.P. § 1302.01
History of Collective Marks

Executive summary:

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1302.01 History of Collective Marks

Section 4 of the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. 1054, provides for registration of both collective marks and certification marks, without distinguishing between them, but §45 of the Act, 15 U.S.C. 1127, defines collective marks and certification marks separately, as distinctly different types of marks. (See TMEP §§1306 et seq. regarding certification marks.)

A brief history will serve to put these sections in perspective. The earlier statutory provision, out of which §4 and the accompanying definitions in §45 grew, was the June 10, 1938, amendment of the Trademark Act of 1905. Under the Act of 1905, registration could be based only on a person's own use of a mark. The purpose of the 1938 amendment was to provide for registration of a mark by an owner who "exercises legitimate control over the use of a collective mark." "Collective marks," however, were not defined under the Act of 1905, as amended. Section 45 of the Act of 1946 defined the separate types of marks.

See TMEP §1304.01 for additional history relating to collective membership marks.