18 U.S.C. § 711
Section 711 · Smokey Bear character or name
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 11 court decisions — leading case Brown v. Johnston (1937)
Most recently applied in Last Best Beef, LLC v. Dudas (October 2007)
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.
Whoever, except as authorized under rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture after consultation with the Association of State Foresters and the Advertising Council, knowingly and for profit manufactures, reproduces, or uses the character “Smokey Bear”, originated by the Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Association of State Foresters and the Advertising Council for use in public information concerning the prevention of forest fires, or any facsimile thereof, or the name “Smokey Bear” shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(1)(E), substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $250”.
Pub. L. 103–322, §330004(4), struck out last par. which read as follows: “The Secretary of Agriculture may specially authorize the manufacture, reproduction, or use of the character ‘Smokey Bear’ for a period not to exceed one hundred and eighty days, expiring no later than one year after the enactment hereof, by any person who, because of plans or commitments made prior to the enactment of this Act, would suffer substantial loss if denied such authorization.”
1974—Pub. L. 93–318 inserted “and for profit” after “knowingly” and struck out “as a trade name or in such manner as suggests the character ‘Smokey Bear’ ” after “facsimile thereof, or the name ‘Smokey Bear’ ”.
Deposit of Fees; Availability
Deposit of fees collected under regulations governing “Smokey Bear” and availability for use, see section 580p–2 of Title 16, Conservation.