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Committee OKs administrative cancellation authority for trademarks and trade names
Summary
The committee recommended passage of Senate File 53, which would allow the Secretary of State to administratively cancel trademark and trade name registrations for fraudulent or false filings, with a 60‑day cure period and a 30‑day right to appeal to district court.
Senate File 53, carried by the Secretary of State’s office, won committee approval after officials described a process mirroring existing administrative cancellation authority for corporations and LLCs, extended to trademarks, service marks and trade names.
The bill would add a new ground for cancellation in the trademark and trade‑name statutes when the secretary of state finds fraudulent or false information has been provided or not corrected on request. The proposed process: the secretary would issue written notice by certified mail, give the registrant 60 days to cure or contest, and if the response is unsatisfactory, cancel the registration and notify by certified mail. A registrant could appeal the cancellation to district court within 30 days; the court could summarily reinstate registrations found to be wrongly canceled.
"While this does expand the ability to take action if there is false or fraudulent information, this is part of a number of bills that were forwarded by our office," Joe Rubino, policy director and general counsel for the Secretary of State's office, told the committee. Colin Crossman, director of the Secretary of State's business division, described procedural safeguards the office uses now — including requiring affidavits for complaints and senior‑staff review before cancellation — and said the proposed approach mirrors existing practice for other entity types.
Supporters said the change aims to give trademark and trade name holders a faster administrative path than costly litigation when filings are fraudulent or materially false. Crossman described examples where simple typographical errors were easily cured during the process, noting that most challenges are resolved within days.
Action: A roll‑call vote recorded all present members voting aye; Representative Reagan was excused. The committee recorded an 8‑0‑1 vote in favor of recommending passage.
The measure includes appeal safeguards and tracks existing administrative-dissolution language used for other business entity types. If enacted, it would take effect July 1, 2025, per the bill text.
