Alabama Code > Title 8 > Chapter 12 – Trademarks, Names, Marks, Devices, and Labels


Article 1	General Provisions	8-12-1 – 8-12-3
Article 2	Registration of Trademarks and Service Marks	8-12-6 – 8-12-19
Article 3	Names, Marks, etc., on Beverage Containers	8-12-20 – 8-12-23
Article 4	Marked Containers for Milk and Milk Products	8-12-40 – 8-12-44

Terms Used In Alabama Code > Title 8 > Chapter 12 - Trademarks, Names, Marks, Devices, and Labels

Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
agreement: Any agreement between a wholesaler and a supplier, whether oral or written, whereby a wholesaler is granted the right to purchase and sell a brand or brands of wine sold by a supplier. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
ANCILLARY BUSINESS: A business owned by a wholesaler, or by a substantial partner of a wholesaler, the primary business of which is directly related to the transporting, storing, or marketing of the brand or brands of wine of a supplier with whom the wholesaler has an agreement; or a business owned by a wholesaler, a substantial stockholder of a wholesaler, or a substantial partner of a wholesaler which recycles empty beverage containers. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
applicant: The person filing an application for registration of a mark under this article and the person's legal representative, successors, or assigns. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
Appraisal: A determination of property value.
Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
associate: When used to indicate a relationship with:
(A) a domestic or foreign entity for which the person is:
(i) an officer or governing person; or
(ii) a beneficial owner of 10 percent or more of a class of voting ownership interests or similar securities of the entity;
(B) a trust or estate in which the person has a substantial beneficial interest or for which the person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity;
(C) the person's spouse or a relative of the person related by consanguinity or affinity within the fifth degree who resides with the person; or
(D) a governing person or an affiliate or officer of the person. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
Commercial unit: means such a unit of goods as by commercial usage is a single whole for purposes of lease and division of which materially impairs its character or value on the market or in use. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
Consumer lease: means a lease that a lessor regularly engaged in the business of leasing or selling makes to a lessee who is an individual and who takes under the lease primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose, if the total payments to be made under the lease contract, excluding payments for options to renew or buy, do not exceed $100,000. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
conversion: A conversion, whether referred to as a conversion, domestication, or otherwise, means:
(A) the continuance of a domestic entity as a foreign entity of any type;
(B) the continuance of a foreign entity as a domestic entity of any type; or
(C) the continuance of a domestic entity of one type as a domestic entity of another type. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
CONVERTED ENTITY: An entity resulting from a conversion. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
CONVERTING ENTITY: An entity as the entity existed before the entity's conversion. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Decedent: A deceased person.
Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
department: The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
DESIGNATED MEMBER: The spouse, child, grandchild, parent, brother, or sister of a deceased individual who owned an interest, including a controlling interest, in a wholesaler; or any person who inherits the deceased individual's ownership interest in the wholesaler under the terms of the deceased individual's will, or under the laws of intestate succession of this state; or any person who or entity which has otherwise by designation in writing by the deceased individual, succeeded the deceased individual in the wholesaler's business, or has succeeded to the deceased individual's ownership interest in the wholesaler pursuant to a written contract or instrument; and also includes the appointed and qualified personal representative and the testamentary trustee of a deceased individual owning an ownership interest in a wholesaler. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
dilution: Dilution by blurring or dilution by tarnishment, regardless of the presence or absence of:
a. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
DILUTION BY BLURRING: The association arising from the similarity between a mark and a famous mark that impairs the distinctiveness of the famous mark. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
DILUTION BY TARNISHMENT: The association arising from the similarity between a mark and a famous mark that harms the reputation of the famous mark. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
director: An individual who serves on the board of directors, by whatever name known, of a foreign or domestic corporation. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
director: The Secretary of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
FILING ENTITY: A domestic entity that is a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability limited partnership, limited liability company, professional association, employee cooperative corporation, or real estate investment trust. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
FOREIGN FILING ENTITY: A foreign entity that registers or is required to register as a foreign entity under Article 7. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
GOOD FAITH: Honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing in the trade, as defined in and interpreted under the Uniform Commercial Code, Section 7-2-103. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
Goods: means all things that are movable at the time of identification to the lease contract, or are fixtures (Section 7-2A-309), but the term does not include money, documents, instruments, accounts, chattel paper, general intangibles, or minerals or the like, including oil and gas, before extraction. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
individual: A natural person and the estate of an incompetent or deceased natural person. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
Installment lease contract: means a lease contract that authorizes or requires the delivery of goods in separate lots to be separately accepted, even though the lease contract contains a clause "each delivery is a separate lease" or its equivalent. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
JUDGE OF PROBATE: The judge of probate of the county in which an entity is required or permitted to deliver a filing instrument for filing pursuant to this title. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
juries: include courts or judges in all cases when a jury trial is waived, or when the court or judge is authorized to ascertain and determine the facts as well as the law. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
Juror: A person who is on the jury.
Lease: means a transfer of the right to possession and use of goods for a term in return for consideration, but a sale, including a sale on approval or a sale or return, or retention or creation of a security interest is not a lease. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
Lease agreement: means the bargain, with respect to the lease, of the lessor and the lessee in fact as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances including course of dealing or usage of trade or course of performance as provided in this article. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Lease contract: means the total legal obligation that results from the lease agreement as affected by this article and any other applicable rules of law. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Lessee: means a person who acquires the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Lessor: means a person who transfers the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
LIMITED PARTNER: A person who has been admitted to a limited partnership as a limited partner as provided by:
(A) in the case of a domestic limited partnership, Chapter 9A; or
(B) in the case of a foreign limited partnership, the laws of its jurisdiction of formation. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
mark: Any trade name, trademark, or service mark entitled to registration under this article whether registered or not. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
Merchant lessee: means a lessee that is a merchant with respect to goods of the kind subject to the lease. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
merger: The combination of one or more domestic entities with one or more domestic entities or foreign entities resulting in:
(A) one or more surviving domestic entities or foreign entities;
(B) the creation of one or more new domestic entities or foreign entities, or one or more surviving domestic entities or foreign entities; or
(C) one or more surviving domestic entities or foreign entities and the creation of one or more new domestic entities or foreign entities. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
MOTOR VEHICLE: Every vehicle that is self-propelled and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, except for electric personal assistive mobility devices and electric bicycles. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
motorcycle: Every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding a tractor and an electric bicycle. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
NONPROFIT CORPORATION: A domestic or foreign nonprofit corporation as defined in Chapter 3. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
organization: A corporation, limited partnership, general partnership, limited liability company, business trust, real estate investment trust, joint venture, joint stock company, cooperative, association, or other organization, including, regardless of its organizational form, a bank, insurance company, credit union, and savings and loan association, whether for profit, not for profit, nonprofit, domestic, or foreign. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
owner: A person, other than a lienholder, having the property in or title to a vehicle. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
partner: A limited partner or general partner. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
PARTY TO THE MERGER: A domestic entity or foreign entity that under a plan of merger is combined by a merger. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
person: shall include a firm, partnership, association of persons, corporation, organization, or any other group acting as a unit. See Alabama Code 45-2-40.01
person: Every individual, firm, copartnership, association, or corporation. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
person: Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, union, or other organization. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
Present value: means the amount as of a date certain of one or more sums payable in the future, discounted to the date certain. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
property: Includes all property, whether real, personal, or mixed, or tangible or intangible, or any right or interest therein. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST: An unincorporated trust, association, or other entity as defined in Chapter 10. See Alabama Code 10A-1-1.03
REASONABLE QUALIFICATIONS: The standard of the reasonable criteria established and consistently used by the respective supplier for Alabama wholesalers that entered into, continued, or renewed an agreement with the supplier during a period of 24 months prior to the proposed transfer of the wholesaler's business, or for Alabama wholesalers who have changed managers or designated managers during a period of 24 months prior to the proposed change in manager or successor manager of the wholesaler's business. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
registrant: The person to whom the registration of a mark under this article is issued and the person's legal representative, successors, or assigns. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
registration: The registration certificate or certificates and registration plates issued under the laws of this state pertaining to the registration of vehicles. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
RETALIATORY ACTION: Includes, but is not limited to, the refusal to continue an agreement, or a material reduction in the quality of service or in the quantity of products available to a wholesaler under an agreement, which refusal or reduction is not made in good faith. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
SALES TERRITORY: an area of exclusive sales responsibility for the brand or brands of wine sold by a supplier as designated by an agreement. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
SERVICE MARK: Any word, name, symbol, character, or device, or any combination thereof and the distinctive feature of radio, television, or other advertising adopted and used by a person to identify services rendered or offered by the person and to distinguish them from the services of others. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
state: A state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a province of Canada. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
Supplier: means a person from whom a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased under a finance lease. See Alabama Code 7-2A-103
supplier: A manufacturer or importer of wine licensed by the board. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
Testify: Answer questions in court.
Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
TRADE NAME: A word, name, symbol, character, design, drawing, device, or any combination thereof adopted and used by a person to identify the person's business (including vocation, occupation, or profession), and distinguish it from the business of others. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
trademark: Any word, name, symbol, character, design, drawing, or device, or any combination thereof adopted and used by a person to identify goods made or sold by the person and to distinguish them from goods made or sold by others. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
used: A mark shall be deemed to be used in this state:
a. See Alabama Code 8-12-6
vehicle: Every device in, upon, or by which any individual or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks or electric personal assistive mobility devices; provided, that for the purposes of this title, a bicycle, an electric bicycle, or a ridden animal shall be deemed a vehicle, except those provisions of this title, which by their very nature can have no application. See Alabama Code 32-1-1.1
Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
Voir dire: The process by which judges and lawyers select a petit jury from among those eligible to serve, by questioning them to determine knowledge of the facts of the case and a willingness to decide the case only on the evidence presented in court. "Voir dire" is a phrase meaning "to speak the truth."
wholesaler: A wholesaler of wine licensed by the board. See Alabama Code 45-2-22.02
Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
year: means a calendar year; but, whenever the word "year" is used in reference to any appropriations for the payment of money out of the treasury, it shall mean fiscal year. See Alabama Code 1-1-1