NEW YORK - US President George W. Bush signed on October 6, 2006 into law H.R 683, the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006. The law took effect immediately upon the president's signature, a press release by the International Trademark Association (INTA) stated.
The Act, which is designed to protect famous marks from uses that blur their distinctiveness or tarnish their reputation, establishes a "likelihood of dilution" standard for a dilution claim and provides for relief from both dilution by blurring and dilution by tarnishment.
H.R. 683 was sponsored by Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Representative Lamar Smith. In the Senate, the Act was championed by Senators Arlen Specter, Orrin Hatch and Patrick Leahy.