As used in the Trademark Act:

A. "applicant" includes the person filing an application for registration of a mark under the Trademark Act as well as the legal representatives, successors or assigns of the person;

B. "dilution" means the lessening of the capacity of the registrant's mark to identify and distinguish goods or services regardless of the presence or absence of:

(1) competition between the parties; or

(2) the likelihood of confusion, mistake or deception;

C. "mark" includes any trademark or service mark entitled to registration under the Trademark Act whether registered or not;

D. "person" and any other word or term used to designate the applicant or other party entitled to a benefit or privilege or rendered liable under the provisions of the Trademark Act, includes a juristic person as well as a natural person; "juristic person" includes a firm, partnership, corporation, union, association or other organization capable of suing and being sued in a court of law;

E. "registrant" includes the person to whom the registration of a mark under the Trademark Act is issued as well as the legal representative, successors or assigns of the person;

F. "secretary" means the secretary of state or the secretary's designee charged with the administration of the Trademark Act;

G. "service mark" means any word, name, symbol, device or any combination of these used by a person to identify and distinguish the services of one person, including a unique service, from the services of other persons and to indicate the source of the services, even if that source is unknown; provided, titles and character names used by a person and other distinctive features of radio or television programs may be registered as service marks notwithstanding that they or the programs may advertise the goods of the sponsor;

H. "trademark" means any word, name, symbol, device or any combination of these used by a person to identify and distinguish the goods of the person, including a unique product, from those manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown;

I. "trade name" means any name used by a person to identify a business or vocation of the person; and

J. "use" means the bona fide use of a mark in the ordinary course of trade and not made merely to reserve a right in the mark. For the purposes of the Trademark Act, a mark is deemed to be in use:

(1) on goods when it is placed in any manner on the goods or on the containers or the displays associated with it or on the tags or labels affixed to them, or if the nature of the goods makes the placement impracticable, then on documents associated with the goods or their sale, and the goods are sold or transported in commerce in this state; and

(2) on services when it is used or displayed in the sale or advertising of services and the services are rendered in this state.

History: Laws 1997, ch. 197, § 3.