§4340 — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

Gives back most trademarks the government took after December 17, 1941. Trademarks: means trademarks, trade names, and the business goodwill tied to them. Trademarks the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General still held on October 23, 1962 (except those taken by vesting orders 284, 2354, 5592, and 18805) will be divested and returned to the people entitled to them on the 91st day after October 23, 1962. Any licenses the government issued stay in effect, and licensees must still pay any unpaid royalties or income that accrued before divestment to the Attorney General. Rights that came from earlier contracts are also divested except for royalties already due, rights already returned or disposed of, and those covered by the listed vesting orders. The Attorney General must publish, within 45 days after October 23, 1962, a list in the Federal Register of trademarks that had owners living in the area now called the Soviet Zone of Occupation, the Soviet sector of Berlin, or German land under provisional Soviet or Polish administration. For marks on that list, divestment takes effect only when the Secretary of State publishes a certification showing an equivalent mark was registered in the Federal Republic of Germany for someone living or based there (including western Berlin). When the Secretary of State so certifies, the person registered in the Federal Republic of Germany succeeds to the U.S. ownership of the divested trademark.

Title 50, §4340

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)As used in this section, the word “trademarks” includes trademarks, trade names, and the goodwill of the business to which a trademark or trade name is appurtenant.

(b)Trademarks vested in the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under the provisions of this chapter subsequent to December 17, 1941, which have not been returned or otherwise disposed of under this chapter, except trademarks vested by vesting orders 284, as amended (7 Fed. Reg. 9754, 9 Fed. Reg. 1038), 2354 (8 Fed. Reg. 14635), 5592 (11 Fed. Reg. 1675), and 18805 (17 Fed. Reg. 4364), are hereby divested as a matter of grace, effective the ninety-first day after October 23, 1962, and the persons entitled to such trademarks shall on that day succeed to the rights, privileges, and obligations arising therefrom, subject, however, to the rights of licensees under licenses issued by the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General in respect to such trademarks. The rights and interests remaining in the Attorney General under licenses issued by him or by the Alien Property Custodian in respect to trademarks divested hereunder are transferred, effective the day of divestment, to the persons entitled to such trademarks: Provided, That all unpaid royalties or other income accrued in favor of the Attorney General under such licenses prior to the day of divestment shall be paid by the licensees to the Attorney General.

(c)All rights or interests vested in the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under the provisions of this chapter subsequent to December 17, 1941, arising out of prevesting contracts entered into with respect to trademarks, except—

(1)royalties or other income received by or accrued in favor of the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under such contracts;

(2)rights or interests which have been returned or otherwise disposed of under this chapter;

(3)rights or interests vested by vesting orders 284, as amended (7 Fed. Reg. 9754; 9 Fed. Reg. 1038), 2354 (8 Fed. Reg. 14635), 5592 (11 Fed. Reg. 1675), and 18805 (17 Fed. Reg. 4364),

(d)The Attorney General shall within forty-five days after October 23, 1962, publish in the Federal Register a list of trademarks which at the date of vesting in the Alien Property Custodian or Attorney General were owned by persons who were resident in or had their sole or primary seat in the area of Germany now in the Soviet Zone of Occupation or in the Soviet sector of Berlin or in German territory under provisional Soviet or Polish administration. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the effective date of divestment of the trademarks so listed and published in the Federal Register shall be the date of publication in the Federal Register by the Secretary of State of a certification identifying the cases in which an equivalent trademark has been registered in the Federal Republic of Germany for a person residing or having its sole or primary seat in the Federal Republic of Germany or in the western sectors of Berlin. In those cases of an equivalent trademark certified by the Secretary of State, the person registered by the Federal Republic of Germany as owner of such equivalent trademark shall succeed to the ownership of the divested trademark in the United States.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b) and (c), was in the original “this Act”, meaning act Oct. 6, 1917, ch. 106, 40 Stat. 411, known as the Trading with the enemy Act, also known as the Trading with the Enemy Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 4301 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 43 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

Functions vested by law in Alien Property Custodian and Office of Alien Property Custodian transferred to Attorney General by Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1947, § 101, eff. July 1, 1947, 12 F.R. 4534, 61 Stat. 951, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

§4340 Divestment of Trademarks