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Trademarks and Service Marks
The Secretary of State's office maintains registration and all updates of trademarks and service marks in California. This information is accessible to the public upon request. General provisions governing trademarks and service marks are found in California Business and Professions Code sections 14200 et seq.
Beginning January 1, 2008, all new filings relating to trademark and service mark registrations, renewals, or assignments are governed by the Model State Trademark Law. Registration forms and other forms related to trademark and service mark filings published by this office prior to January 1, 2008, do not comply with this law and will not be accepted for filing after December 31, 2007.
The most significant changes include:
- The classification of goods and services are those adopted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and a single application may include multiple classifications of goods or services;
- Applicants are required to state a declaration of accuracy that the material facts in the application are true. A willful inaccurate statement is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 to be enforced by a public prosecutor;
- The duration of California registrations has been reduced from ten to five years and the renewal application requires submission of a specimen showing actual use of the mark; and
- The applicant is required to state whether they previously sought to register the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and, if registration was refused, to disclose the reasons why it was refused at the federal level.
The Trademark Unit is also responsible for the registration of various other filings, such as container brands, which could be a name, mark or device impressed or produced on a container (Business & Professions Code section 14425), laundry marks (Business & Professions Code section 14480), and the names of farms, ranches, estates, or villas (Business & Professions Code section 14460).
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