The committee’s task force on state examination procedures continues to take shape, and is now set to begin the job of revamping the guidelines as to how the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations reviews and examines trademark applications based upon the Florida State Trademark Act, Fla. Chapter 495.
The most recent form of the state trademark act became effective on January 1, 2007, and was based upon the Model State Trademark Bill (MSTB) of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and made several changes that conformed Florida’s law to the current federal trademark statute, the U.S. Trademark Act of 1946, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.
The short term goal of the task force, which is being chaired by Darren Spielman, is to begin identifying specific areas of concern and/or problems with application of Chapter 495. One identified issue of concern is the current inability to amend a registered state trademark. These short term goals will also include providing an initial proposed edit of the current examination procedures, which are approximately 30 years old.
The current task force, which now includes new members who volunteered at the recent Business Law Section Retreat, include Heather Schwarz, Keith Lipscomb, Jeannie L. Seewald, Michael Chesal, and Dineen Wasylik.
