Title 15Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§1126 International conventions

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 22— - TRADEMARKS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 1126

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The U.S. trademark office must keep a special list of foreign trademarks sent under international agreements. If the required international and U.S. fees are paid, the office can add those marks to its register. The register will include a picture of the mark, the owner’s name, citizenship, and address, the original registration info (number, date, place, filing and grant dates, and term), the goods or services listed in the original registration, and other helpful facts. People from countries that are party to the same international trademark or unfair competition agreements with the U.S., or that give reciprocal rights to U.S. nationals, can use these rules. A U.S. citizen or resident gets the same benefits. A foreign mark generally must already be registered in the owner’s country of origin unless the owner says they are using it in U.S. commerce. If a U.S. application is filed within six months of the first foreign filing, it gets the same effect as the foreign filing date if it meets U.S. requirements and the owner intends in good faith to use the mark. The U.S. registration is separate from the foreign one. Trade or commercial names get protection even without filing. Owners also get protection against unfair competition and the usual infringement remedies when appropriate. Definitions: "country of origin" — the place where the owner has a real business, or if not, where they live, or if not living in any eligible country, the country of their nationality.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §1126

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Director shall keep a register of all marks communicated to him by the international bureaus provided for by the conventions for the protection of industrial property, trademarks, trade and commercial names, and the repression of unfair competition to which the United States is or may become a party, and upon the payment of the fees required by such conventions and the fees required in this chapter may place the marks so communicated upon such register. This register shall show a facsimile of the mark or trade or commercial name; the name, citizenship, and address of the registrant; the number, date, and place of the first registration of the mark, including the dates on which application for such registration was filed and granted and the term of such registration; a list of goods or services to which the mark is applied as shown by the registration in the country of origin, and such other data as may be useful concerning the mark. This register shall be a continuation of the register provided in section 1(a) of the Act of March 19, 1920.
(b)Any person whose country of origin is a party to any convention or treaty relating to trademarks, trade or commercial names, or the repression of unfair competition, to which the United States is also a party, or extends reciprocal rights to nationals of the United States by law, shall be entitled to the benefits of this section under the conditions expressed herein to the extent necessary to give effect to any provision of such convention, treaty or reciprocal law, in addition to the rights to which any owner of a mark is otherwise entitled by this chapter.
(c)No registration of a mark in the United States by a person described in subsection (b) of this section shall be granted until such mark has been registered in the country of origin of the applicant, unless the applicant alleges use in commerce. For the purposes of this section, the country of origin of the applicant is the country in which he has a bona fide and effective industrial or commercial establishment, or if he has not such an establishment the country in which he is domiciled, or if he has not a domicile in any of the countries described in subsection (b) of this section, the country of which he is a national.
(d)An application for registration of a mark under section 1051, 1053, 1054, or 1091 of this title or under subsection (e) of this section, filed by a person described in subsection (b) of this section who has previously duly filed an application for registration of the same mark in one of the countries described in subsection (b) shall be accorded the same force and effect as would be accorded to the same application if filed in the United States on the same date on which the application was first filed in such foreign country: Provided, That—
(1)the application in the United States is filed within six months from the date on which the application was first filed in the foreign country;
(2)the application conforms as nearly as practicable to the requirements of this chapter, including a statement that the applicant has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce;
(3)the rights acquired by third parties before the date of the filing of the first application in the foreign country shall in no way be affected by a registration obtained on an application filed under this subsection;
(4)nothing in this subsection shall entitle the owner of a registration granted under this section to sue for acts committed prior to the date on which his mark was registered in this country unless the registration is based on use in commerce.
(e)A mark duly registered in the country of origin of the foreign applicant may be registered on the principal register if eligible, otherwise on the supplemental register in this chapter provided. Such applicant shall submit, within such time period as may be prescribed by the Director, a true copy, a photocopy, a certification, or a certified copy of the registration in the country of origin of the applicant. The application must state the applicant’s bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, but use in commerce shall not be required prior to registration.
(f)The registration of a mark under the provisions of subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section by a person described in subsection (b) shall be independent of the registration in the country of origin and the duration, validity, or transfer in the United States of such registration shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter.
(g)Trade names or commercial names of persons described in subsection (b) of this section shall be protected without the obligation of filing or registration whether or not they form parts of marks.
(h)Any person designated in subsection (b) of this section as entitled to the benefits and subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be entitled to effective protection against unfair competition, and the remedies provided in this chapter for infringement of marks shall be available so far as they may be appropriate in repressing acts of unfair competition.
(i)Citizens or residents of the United States shall have the same benefits as are granted by this section to persons described in subsection (b) of this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 1(a) of the Act of
March 19, 1920, referred to in subsec. (a), is section 1(a) of act Mar. 19, 1920, ch. 104, 41 Stat. 533, which was classified to section 121(a) of this title, and repealed by act
July 5, 1946, ch. 540, § 46(a), 60 Stat. 444, insofar as inconsistent with this chapter.

Prior Provisions

Acts Feb. 20, 1905, ch. 592, §§ 1, 2, 4, 33 Stat. 724, 725;
May 4, 1906, ch. 2081, §§ 1, 3, 34 Stat. 168, 169; Feb. 18, 1909, ch. 144, 35 Stat. 628; Mar. 19, 1920, ch. 104, §§ 1, 6, 41 Stat. 533, 535; Apr. 11, 1930, ch. 132, § 4, 46 Stat. 155;
June 20, 1936, ch. 617, 49 Stat. 1539;
June 10, 1938, ch. 332, §§ 1, 2, 3, 52 Stat. 638, 639.

Amendments

2002—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “a true copy, a photocopy, a certification,” for “a certification”. 1999—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–113 substituted “Director” for “Commissioner”. Pub. L. 106–43 substituted “trademarks” for “trade-marks”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106–113 substituted “Director” for “Commissioner”. 1998—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–330, § 108(1)(A), in introductory provisions, substituted “or 1091 of this title or under subsection (e) of this section” for “1091 of this title, or subsection (e) of this section”. Subsec. (d)(3), (4). Pub. L. 105–330, § 108(1)(B), made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to this subsection. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–330, § 108(2), substituted “Such applicant shall submit, within such time period as may be prescribed by the Commissioner, a certification or a certified copy of the registration in the country of origin of the applicant” for “The application therefor shall be accompanied by a certification or a certified copy of the registration in the country of origin of the applicant”. 1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–667, § 133(2), substituted “required in this chapter” for “herein prescribed”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–667, § 133(1), made technical amendment in two places to references in the original act to subsection (b) of this section, resulting in no change in text. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–667, § 133(1), (3), (4), (5), in introductory provisions, made technical amendment in two places to references in the original act to subsection (b) of this section, resulting in no change in text, and substituted “section 1051, 1053, 1054, or 1091 of this title, or subsection (e) of this section” for “section 1051, 1052, 1053, 1054, or 1091 of this title”, in par. (2), substituted “including a statement that the applicant has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce” for “but use in commerce need not be alleged”, and in par. (3), substituted “foreign” for “foreing”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–667, § 133(6), inserted at end “The application must state the applicant’s bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, but use in commerce shall not be required prior to registration.” Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–667, § 133(1), (7), made technical amendment to references in the original act to subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section and to subsection (b) of this section, resulting in no change in text. Subsecs. (g) to (i). Pub. L. 100–667, § 133(1), (8), made technical amendment to references in the original act to subsection (b) of this section, resulting in no change in text. 1962—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87–772 inserted “or extends reciprocal rights to nationals of the United States by law,” and substituted provisions requiring the person’s country of origin to be a party to any convention or treaty, for provisions which required such persons to be nationals of, domiciled in, or have a bona fide and effective business or commercial establishment in a foreign country which was a party to the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, or the General Inter-American Convention for Trade Mark and Commercial Protection, or any other convention or treaty relating to trademarks, trade, or commercial names. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 87–772 inserted “certification or a” after “accompanied by a” and struck out “application for or” before “registration”. 1961—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 87–333 inserted par. at end authorizing the right provided by this section to be based upon a subsequent application in the same foreign country, instead of the first application, provided that any foreign application filed prior to such subsequent one was withdrawn, or otherwise disposed of, without having been open to public inspection and without leaving any rights outstanding, nor any basis for claiming priority.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1999 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of Title 35, Patents.

Effective Date

of 1998 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 105–330 effective on the date that is 1 year after Oct. 30, 1998, see section 110 of Pub. L. 105–330, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title. For provisions relating to applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 105–330 to applications for registration of trademarks, see section 109(b) of Pub. L. 105–330, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–667 effective one year after Nov. 16, 1988, see section 136 of Pub. L. 100–667, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1961 Amendment Pub. L. 87–333, § 3, Oct. 3, 1961, 75 Stat. 748, provided that: “This Act [amending this section and section 119 of Title 35, Patents] shall take effect on the date when the Convention of Paris for the Protection of Industrial Property of
March 20, 1883, as revised at Lisbon,
October 31, 1958, comes into force with respect to the United States and shall apply only to applications thereafter filed in the United States by persons entitled to the benefit of said convention, as revised at the time of such filing.” Repeal and Effect on Existing RightsRepeal of inconsistent provisions, effect of this chapter on pending proceedings and existing registrations and rights under prior acts, see notes set out under section 1051 of this title.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of Commerce, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of Commerce, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 5 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 1126

Title 15Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73