Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act
Public Law 105-330 · S. 2193 · 105th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Oct 30, 1998 · Commerce
Sponsor: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Cosponsors (1): Sen. Patrick Leahy
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Title I: Trademark Law Treaty Implementation
Title II: Technical Corrections
Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions
Title I: Trademark Law Treaty Implementation - Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act - Amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to revise trademark registration requirements.
(Sec. 103) Requires owners of trademarks and persons with bona fide intentions to use trademarks to include verifications attesting to the accuracy of facts in registration applications.
Prohibits the registration of any trademark until the applicant has met certain existing requirements with respect to: (1) amending an application for a bona fide intention to use a trademark to conform to requirements for using a trademark in commerce if the applicant has made use of the trademark; and (2) verifying statements that a trademark is used in commerce. Exempts trademarks subject to certain international conventions from such requirements.
(Sec. 104) Provides that failures to file extension requests for filing statements of use shall result in abandonment of registration applications unless shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks that a delay was unintentional.
(Sec. 105) Grants owners of registered trademarks a grace period to make certain affidavits in order to avoid early cancellations of registrations.
(Sec. 106) Revises registration renewal requirements and extends the period in which a renewal may be filed to one year (currently, six months) before the end of each successive ten-year period for which the registration was issued or renewed. Extends the grace period for filing renewals for expired registrations from three to six months after the end of such ten-year period, with payment of a surcharge.
(Sec. 108) Removes a requirement that an application for registration of a foreign trademark be accompanied by a certification or certified copy of the foreign registration. Requires the submission of such documents within such time period as the Commissioner prescribes.
Title II: Technical Corrections - Makes various specified technical corrections to the Trademark Act of 1946.
Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to declare that nothing shall be deemed to prohibit a registrant from using its certification mark in advertising or promoting recognition of the certification program or of the goods or services meeting the registrant's certification standards. States that such uses shall not be grounds for cancellation of registration so long as the registrant does not itself produce, manufacture, or sell any of the certified goods or services to which its identical certification mark is applied.
(Sec. 302) Directs the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks to study and report to specified congressional committees on the issues surrounding the protection of the official insignia of federally and State recognized Native American tribes.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Oct 30, 1998Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 105-330.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Oct 20, 1998PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Oct 9, 1998FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Coble moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Sep 17, 1998FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Jul 16, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Judiciary Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Judiciary Committee
- Jun 18, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.