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ARTICLE · 08 JANUARY 2021

The US Trademark Modernization Act Becomes Law

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On December 27, 2020, the Trademark Modernization Act became law in the United States as part of Congress' bipartisan effort to enact the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021 which includes a COVID-19 relief package.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Steven Moore
Steven Moore
Paolo Macchi
Paolo Macchi
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On December 27, 2020, the Trademark Modernization Act (also known as 'TMA') became law in the United States as part of Congress' bipartisan effort to enact the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021 which includes a COVID-19 relief package.

The TMA will become effective at the end of 2021 (a year after being signed into law), introducing several important amendments to the Lanham Act. Also known as the Trademark Act of 1946, the Lanham Act is a federal statute that governs trademarks, service marks, and unfair competition. The TMA amends the Lanham Act in three aspects:

  • to provide for third-party submission of evidence relating to a trademark application;
  • to establish expungement and ex parte proceedings relating to the validity of marks; and

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