Cite as: 505 U. S. 763 (1992)
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
I
It is appropriate to begin with the relevant text of § 43(a).1 See, e. g., Moskal v. United States, 498 U. S. 103 (1990); K mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 486 U. S. 281, 291 (1988); United States v. Turkette, 452 U. S. 576, 580 (1981). Section 43(a) 2 provides a federal remedy for using either "a false designation of origin" or a "false description or representation" in connection with any goods or services. The full text of the section makes it clear that the word "origin" refers to the geographic location in which the goods originated, and in fact, the phrase "false designation of origin" was understood to be limited to false advertising of geographic origin. For example, the "false designation of origin" language con-1 The text that we consider today is § 43(a) of the Lanham Act prior to the 1988 amendments; it provides:
"Any person who shall affix, apply, or annex, or use in connection with any goods or services, or any container or containers for goods, a false designation of origin, or any false description or representation, including words or other symbols tending falsely to describe or represent the same, and shall cause such goods or services to enter into commerce, and any person who shall with knowledge of the falsity of such designation of origin or description or representation cause or procure the same to be transported or used in commerce or deliver the same to any carrier to be transported or used, shall be liable to a civil action by any person doing business in the locality falsely indicated as that of origin or in the region in which said locality is situated, or by any person who believes that he is or is likely to be damaged by the use of any such false description or representation." 15 U. S. C. § 1125(a) (1982 ed.).
2 Section 43(a) replaced and extended the coverage of § 3 of the Trademark Act of 1920, 41 Stat. 534, as amended. Section 3 was destined for oblivion largely because it referred only to false designation of origin, was limited to articles of merchandise, thus excluding services, and required a showing that the use of the false designation of origin occurred "willfully and with intent to deceive." Ibid. As a result, "[a]lmost no reported decision can be found in which relief was granted to either a United States or foreign party based on this newly created remedy." Derenberg, Federal Unfair Competition Law at the End of the First Decade of the Lanham Act: Prologue or Epilogue?, 32 N. Y. U. L. Rev. 1029, 1034 (1957).
777
Page: Index Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007