What is the Lanham Act?

The Lanham Act is a federal statute which governs trademark law. While not exclusive (many states have their own similar statutes, and every state has common law regarding trademarks), the Lanham Act is generally the most relevant law in any discussion about trademark law, because many trademarks are federally registered pursuant to the terms of the Lanham Act. The Lanham Act can be found in Title 15 of the United States Code, and is broken up into four general subchapters.