The ''Trade-Mark Cases'', 100 U.S. 82 (1879), were a set of three cases consolidated into a single appeal before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, which in 1879 unanimously ruled that the

Copyright Clause The Copyright Clause (also known as the Intellectual Property Clause, Copyright and Patent Clause, or the Progress Clause) describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 8). The clause, wh ...

of the Constitution gave Congress no power to protect or regulate

trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others. ...

.. Congress then passed the

Trade Mark Act of 1881 Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

, which was based on the

Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among ...

power, and therefore passed constitutional muster. The three cases were ''United States v. Steffens'', ''United States v. Wittemann'', and ''United States v. Johnson''. ''Steffens'' and ''Wittemann'' dealt with alleged counterfeiting of marks associated with

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, sp ...

, while ''Johnson'' dealt with alleged counterfeiting of a mark associated with

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...

. The opinion was written by Justice

Samuel Freeman Miller Samuel Freeman Miller (April 5, 1816 – October 13, 1890) was an American lawyer and physician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1862 until his death in 1890. Early life, education, and medical career Born ...

. The Court did not exclude all possibility of Congress regulating trademarks. Congress, however, read the decision very strictly and in a new trademark law enacted in 1881 regulated only trademarks used in commerce with foreign nations, and with the Indian tribes, areas specified under the Commerce Clause. It was not until 1905 that Congress would again enact a trademark law generally governing marks in use in the United States, though the 1905 act was also carefully worded to fall within the Commerce Clause.

References

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External links

* * 1879 in United States case law United States Constitution Article One case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Waite Court Criminal cases in the Waite Court Copyright Clause case law United States trademark case law {{SCOTUS-stub