STAND. COM. REP. NO.127
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: S.B. No. 1077
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1077 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRADEMARKS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to update registration provisions for trademarks and service marks.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Business Registration Division (BRD).
Under this measure, a "mark" includes any trademark or service mark, entitled to registration, whether registered or not. This measure, among other things:
(1) Prohibits the registration of marks which are immoral, deceptive, or scandalous; disparage a person; consist of a flag or coat of arms; consist of a name, signature, or portrait of a person without the person's consent; and are deceptively misdescriptive or resemble a registered mark;
(2) Sets forth the application procedures for the registration of marks;
(3) Requires the issuance of a certificate of registration if the applicant fulfills the requirements of application;
(4) Sets forth the grounds for cancellation of the registration of the mark;
(5) Establishes the grounds for a civil action for infringement of a registered mark;
(6) Entitles the owner of a mark which is famous in this State to an injunction against the commercial use of a mark or trade name;
(7) Allows an owner of registered mark to bring suit to enjoin the use or sale of any counterfeit or imitations of the mark; and
(8) Enacts new definitions relating to the terms used in this measure.
According to testimony of the BRD, this measure enacts the Model State Trademark Bill. Twenty-five states have adopted this measure. This measure conforms Hawaii law with the majority of states and incorporates the latest developments in business registration law. Your Committee finds that it is in the best interest of the State to enact legislation that modernizes and maintains the uniformity of Hawaii's business registration laws. Your Committee further finds that the result is a freer flow of commerce and the development of the local economy that will improve Hawaii's business climate.
Your Committee has made technical, nonsubstantive amendments to comport with proper drafting.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1077, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1077, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing,
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____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair |
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