Trademark Act of 1946

The Trademark Act of 1946, also known as the Trademark Act or the Lanham Act, published into law the primary guidelines governing the use of trademarks in the United States. It is under this Act that an individual can pursue legal actions related to infringement and other trademark violations.

The Trademark Act contains four primary subsections. Subsection I provides individuals the right to obtain federal registration for their trademarks, defines requirements on the process for obtaining a trademark, and grants rights to the trademark owner to prevent infringement of a trademark.

Subsection II provides individuals the right to register descriptions of concepts that are not yet in a form to which they can register a trademark. This registration protects the concept until such times as when it can be formally registered as a trademark in the future.

Subsection III provides the specific corrective actions that trademark owners can receive in the event infringement of their trademarks occurs. The correction actions include injunctions as well as damages.

Subsection IV provides for the Madrid System, which provides a system for the registration of a trademark in multiple participating countries through the completion of a single application.