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 turn on question ...

, 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 form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a product or service from a particular source and distinguishes it from ot ...

.. Congress then passed the Trade Mark Act of 1881, 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 amon ...

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, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

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

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

. The opinion was written by Justice Samuel Freeman Miller. 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.

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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-Waite-stub