The Lanham Act is the primary source of federal trademark law. Congress enacted the first trademark statute in 1870. In doing so, Congress provided a federal registration system for all trademarks within the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 1870 statutory in the Trademark Cases because it exceeded Congress's authority under the Paten and Copyright Clause and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. To adjust for this, Congress enacted the Trademark Act of 1905. However, the 1905 Act had several technical inadequacies and was revised multiple times for the next 40 years. In 1946, Congress undertook a significant overhaul of federal trademark law by enacting the Lanham Act (15 U.S. Code Chapter 22-Trademarks).
The Lanham Act is rooted in Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce. The Lanham Act created a federal registration scheme for trademarks and service marks that are used in any commerce Congress has the authority to regulate. The Lanham Act is now the foundation for federal trademark law. Many of the state statutory regimes mirror or closely resemble the Lanham Act in structure and purpose. When practicing or researching federal trademark law, the Lanham Act is the primary source to know and understand.
The Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Model State Trademark Bill are essential pieces of legal jurisprudence to know for state trademark legislation. Almost every state uses either the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act or the Model State Trademark Bill as the basis for their trademark statutory regime. While the Uniform Act and Model Law have no legal authority, they are essential to understand as the backbone for most state statutes.
