House IP Leader Floats Proposal to Fight Fraudulent Trademarks

The chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s intellectual property panel is considering legislation to stem the tide of fraudulent trademarks and phony trademark applications he says are clogging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s registration system.

The Nov. 27 announcement by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) reflects frustrations among trademark attorneys, companies, and the PTO itself with the sharp rise in questionable foreign trademark applications and registrations, especially from China. The clutter hurts legitimate businesses by limiting the number of effective trademarks available, according to academic research cited by Johnson.

Measures to fix the problem could include a new, accelerated challenge ...