A. Upon registration of a motto or slogan as provided in § 2.2-416, no individual, partnership, association or corporation shall employ such motto or slogan or a recognizable variation thereof on any article offered for sale to the public at a price above the actual cost of production of the article without the express consent of the registrant, which, if it approved of such use, may require payment of a reasonable fee or royalty for the use of its motto or slogan and, in addition, may impose restrictions upon such use.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 2.2-417

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245

B. No individual, partnership, association or corporation shall otherwise publicly use a recognizable variation of a registered motto or slogan for any purpose without the express consent of the registrant. Such consent may in any event be revoked by the registrant upon thirty days’ written notice to the licensee. All fees or royalties collected pursuant to this section shall be paid into the general fund of the state treasury.

Public use of a registered motto or slogan or a recognizable variation of a registered motto or slogan for any purpose without the express consent of the registrant or the continued use of a registered motto or slogan or recognizable variation thereof following withdrawal of consent to such use by the registrant shall be punishable by a fine of no more than $1,000. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.

1972, c. 403, §§ 2.1-81.2, 2.1-81.3; 2001, c. 844.

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