Utah Trademark Protection Act Updates (from BNA)

By Eric Goldman

As I previously reported, Utah legislators met with industry representatives to discuss the Utah Trademark Protection Act on April 25. BNA [BNA subscription required] provides a fresh update on developments since the April 25 meeting. According to the BNA article:

the governor has directed the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code in the state Department of Commerce to hold off on implementing the law “for at least a couple of months” while changes to the legislation are considered….If an agreement is reached soon, changes could be enacted during a special session likely to occur this summer.

I like the way that Paul Rogers, a lobbyist for some of the technology companies, summarized his take-away from the April 25 meeting:

“I don’t think they had thought it through, in terms of how it will affect the consumers’ interests,” he said. “We told them we’re not going to comply–we’re going to sue. They said, ‘Don’t sue–we get it, we’ve gone too far. Let us see if we can fix it or repeal it.’ “

Personally, I recommend option #2.