15 U.S.C. § 1053
Section 1053 · Service marks registrable
This is § 3 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act)
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 76 court decisions — leading case Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc. (1985)
Most recently applied in Yah Kai World Wide Enterprises, Inc. v. Napper (July 2016)
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, service marks shall be registrable, in the same manner and with the same effect as are trademarks, and when registered they shall be entitled to the protection provided in this chapter in the case of trademarks. 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
Amendments
1999—Pub. L. 106–43 substituted “trademarks” for “trade-marks” wherever appearing.
1988—Pub. L. 100–667 struck out “used in commerce” after “applicable, service marks” and “, except when used so as to represent falsely that the owner thereof makes or sells the goods on which such mark is used. The Commissioner may establish a separate register for such service marks” after “case of trade-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.
Cross References
Definition of “service mark”, see section 1126 of this title.