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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, July 5, 2021, is the 75th anniversary of the signing |
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| 6 | 7 | | of the Lanham Act by President Harry S. Truman, marking a |
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| 7 | 8 | | significant milestone in the effort to protect American consumers |
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| 8 | 9 | | and manufacturers from the proliferation of counterfeit goods; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Counterfeit products undermine laws, threaten the |
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| 10 | 11 | | economy, and pose both potential and actual harm to consumers in |
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| 11 | 12 | | Texas and across the nation; in April 2021, the Organization for |
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| 12 | 13 | | Economic Cooperation and Development reported that counterfeit |
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| 13 | 14 | | goods were on the rise, constituting as much as 3.3 percent of |
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| 14 | 15 | | globally traded goods at a cost of $500 billion; there are |
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| 15 | 16 | | approximately 180,000 registered trademarks owned by Texas |
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| 16 | 17 | | businesses and more than 2.5 million active trademarks in the |
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| 17 | 18 | | United States, and each year, brand owners ranging from small |
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| 18 | 19 | | businesses to major corporations collectively spend billions of |
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| 19 | 20 | | dollars to remove counterfeit products from circulation; and |
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| 20 | 21 | | WHEREAS, Also known as the Trademark Act of 1946, the Lanham |
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| 21 | 22 | | Act provides the foundation for modern federal trademark |
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| 22 | 23 | | protection, creating remedies for brand owners and helping |
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| 23 | 24 | | consumers by reducing the number of counterfeit and confusingly |
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| 24 | 25 | | similar products in the marketplace; cited in over 50 Supreme Court |
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| 25 | 26 | | decisions and 54,000 cases in state and federal courts, the act has |
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| 26 | 27 | | helped establish a nationwide framework for the protection of |
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| 27 | 28 | | logos, words, phrases, names, packaging, scents, shapes, colors, |
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| 28 | 29 | | and other elements of trademark; these measures help protect the |
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| 29 | 30 | | integrity of consumer goods ranging from soap and toothpaste to |
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| 30 | 31 | | pharmaceuticals and military equipment; and |
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| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, The primary sponsor of the act was Fritz Lanham of |
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| 32 | 33 | | Fort Worth, who represented the 12th Congressional District in the |
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| 33 | 34 | | U.S. House of Representatives from 1919 to 1947; during his |
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| 34 | 35 | | remarkable 27-year tenure, he served as chair of the House |
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| 35 | 36 | | Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, playing a vital role in |
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| 36 | 37 | | the construction of such important federal buildings as the Pan |
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| 37 | 38 | | American Union Building, the Longworth House Office Building, and |
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| 38 | 39 | | many U.S. courthouses and post offices; he also served on the |
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| 39 | 40 | | Supreme Court Building Commission under former president and chief |
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| 40 | 41 | | justice William Howard Taft, helping to oversee the construction of |
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| 41 | 42 | | the U.S. Supreme Court building, on time and under budget; and |
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| 42 | 43 | | WHEREAS, For 75 years, the Lanham Act has enabled the |
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| 43 | 44 | | U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to administer a strong and |
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| 44 | 45 | | effective federal trademark system, and in so doing, this important |
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| 45 | 46 | | legislation has helped protect both brand owners and consumers in |
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| 46 | 47 | | the marketplace; now, therefore, be it |
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| 47 | 48 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 48 | 49 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of the passage |
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| 49 | 50 | | of the Lanham Act and pay tribute to the life and legacy of |
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| 50 | 51 | | U.S. Representative Fritz Lanham. |
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