15 U.S.C. § 1054
Section 1054 · Collective marks and certification marks registrable
This is § 4 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act)
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 35 court decisions — leading case Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc. (1985)
Most recently applied in Bureau National Interprofessionnel Du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment (August 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Subject to the provisions relating to the registration of trademarks, so far as they are applicable, collective and certification marks, including indications of regional origin, shall be registrable under this chapter, in the same manner and with the same effect as are trademarks, by persons, and nations, States, municipalities, and the like, exercising legitimate control over the use of the marks sought to be registered, even though not possessing an industrial or commercial establishment, and when registered they shall be entitled to the protection provided in this chapter in the case of trademarks, except in the case of certification marks when used so as to represent falsely that the owner or a user thereof makes or sells the goods or performs the services on or in connection with which such mark is used. Applications and procedure under this section shall conform as nearly as practicable to those prescribed for the registration of trademarks.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
Acts Feb. 20, 1905, ch. 592, §1, 33 Stat. 724; May 4, 1906, ch. 2081, §1, 34 Stat. 168; Feb. 18, 1909, ch. 144, 35 Stat. 628; Apr. 11, 1930, ch. 132, §4, 46 Stat. 155; June 10, 1938, ch. 332, §1, 52 Stat. 638.
Amendments
1999—Pub. L. 106–43 substituted “trademarks” for “trade-marks” wherever appearing.
1988—Pub. L. 100–667 substituted “origin,” for “origin used in commerce,” and “except in the case of certification marks when” for “except when” and struck out after first sentence “The Commissioner may establish a separate register for such collective marks and certification marks.”
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment 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.
Repeal and Effect on Existing Rights
Repeal 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.
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.