50 U.S.C. § 4340: Divestment of trademarks

Summary

The government will return trademarks it took after December 17, 1941 to the people who are entitled to them on the ninety-first day after October 23, 1962, except for those taken by vesting orders 284 (as amended), 2354, 5592, and 18805. Licenses already issued by the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General still count, and the rights under those licenses move to the returned owners on that day. Licensees must pay any unpaid royalties or other income that accrued to the Attorney General before that day to the Attorney General. “Trademarks” here means trademarks, trade names, and the business goodwill tied to them. Rights from contracts made before vesting are also returned on the same date, except for royalties already paid or accrued, rights already returned or disposed of, and the four vesting-order exceptions above. The Attorney General must publish a list within forty-five days after October 23, 1962 of trademarks that were owned by people in German areas under Soviet control. For those on the list, return takes effect only when the Secretary of State certifies that an equivalent trademark was registered in the Federal Republic of Germany; in those certified cases the person registered in the Federal Republic of Germany gets the U.S. ownership.

Title 50, §4340

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)“Trademarks” defined

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)Effective date of divestment; rights of licensees; transfer of interests; payment of royalties to Attorney General

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)Prevesting contracts; exceptions; payment of royalties to Attorney General

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),

are hereby divested as a matter of grace, effective the ninety-first day after October 23, 1962, and the persons entitled to such rights or interests shall succeed thereto, subject to the right of the Attorney General to collect and receive all unpaid royalties or other income accrued in his favor under such prevesting contracts prior to the day of divestment.

(d)Publication of ownership list in Federal Register; effective date of divestment; succession to ownership of equivalent trademarks

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