Major changes to Texas’ intellectual property law take effect Sept. 1 that impact Texas trademark owners’ rights and remedies, and bring our state into greater conformity with federal trademark law. The rules apply to any trademark — be it a word, name, symbol or device — established by use as identifying the source of a product or service. Passed by Texas state lawmakers in 2011 as House Bill 3141, many of the new law changes are based on the Model State Trademark Bill originally circulated by the International Trademark Association. The ultimate goal of this model bill is to bring state trademark laws in line with federal law and to promote uniformity among the states, which is generally believed to be good for business. Texas will now review state applications against not only the Texas state trademark register, but also against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office trademark register. Companies must renew trademark registrations obtained under the new law every five years, as compared to the old law’s trademark term of 10 years.
Texas – Changes in intellectual property law